How To Keep a Secret
by Bad Ass Female Fighter
Summary: Fem!RitsuXMasamune. Pregnant. Of all the things that had to happen to her. Here's the plan; Step 1: transfer out of Manga. Step 2: Change apartments. Step 3: avoid your ex and hope to god that he doesn't find out about your pregnancy. Quick and easy... yeah right! You're screwed, Ritsu. Good luck.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, just my OC Kurosaki_**

* * *

Ritsu's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she stared at her doctor, "This is a joke, right?" she said, praying that what the doctor told her wasn't true.

Doctor Kurosaki took off her glasses and stared at Ritsu calmly, "I know that this may come as a shock to you, but as of today, you are officially ten weeks pregnant." she said, her honey brown eyes taking in the shocked patient that sat in her office.

Ritsu raised a hand to cover her face as panic began to set in, "This can't be happening, this can't be happening." she said to herself, hating herself for being so reckless and not careful.

Doctor Kurosaki felt sympathy for the young woman who never expected to be pregnant, "Onodera-san, is there someone you could call? Is the Father around?" she asked, making Ritsu's breath hitch at the mention of the Father.

Ritsu shook her head, "No, I don't wish to call anyone." she couldn't bear it if people at Marukawa Publishing knew...especially _him._

"Well what about the Father, is he still around?" Doctor Kurosaki asked, worried about this woman.

"Yes. But he shouldn't know." Ritsu said, almost quietly, but Doctor Kurosaki heard her clearly.

"Onodera-san, I hate prying into my patient's affairs, but I need to know if you've been having problems at work and at home. Has the Father hurt you?" Doctor Kurosaki asked, making Ritsu's eyes shoot up in surprise.

"No, of course not. It's just...it's complicated." Ritsu said looking down.

"Have you been in a relationship lately?"

"No...Yes." Ritsu placed her hands on her face, "I don't know, it's complicated for me." she said, feeling like she's trapped.

Doctor Kurosaki took in the confusion in Ritsu's appearance, "Onodera-san, I know that this is confusing for you right now. However, at this point, you're going to have to plan this out. Do you live alone?" Ritsu nodded.

"Okay, let's see, oh yeah, what is your profession, I need to give them a notice about your condition." Doctor Kurosaki said as she began writing down some paperwork.

Ritsu's head shot up, "What, no, don't tell my boss...at least not yet. I don't want my coworkers to know about my pregnancy just yet." she said, stopping Kurosaki in her work.

Doctor Kurosaki stared at her in confusion, "Onodera-san, I have to notify them of your pregnancy so that nothing bad happens to your baby."

"I know that, it's just..." Ritsu looked down in shame, not wanting to meet the doctor's eyes.

"Onodera-san?" Doctor Kurosaki implored, wanting to know what's troubling her patient.

"...My boss...is the Father." Ritsu confessed, her face going red with embarrassment.

"And you think he'll fire you to save his sorry ass?" Doctor Kurosaki asked, already going over multiple scenarios where the boss sexually harrasses his employee or something related to that.

Ritsu looked up at the orange-brown haired doctor who looked ready to knock her boss' head in, "No, it's not like that, I'm just...not ready to tell him." she looked to the side, uncertain about what she should do.

Doctor Kurosaki calmed down some, "Okay, does he love you?"

Ritsu went red in the cheeks at that, remembering all those times he would tell her those three dreadful words that made her want to break her resolve and give in. But each time, she responded by running away from her ex.

"He says he does...when no one's around." Ritsu said, blushing.

Doctor Kurosaki's eyebrow twitched, "No offence to your boss, but he sounds pathetic." she commented, not liking the sound of this by the minute.

Ritsu sighed, "I blame myself, I didn't know that my boss was my ex-boyfriend from high school. I should've quit on the spot." she said, wanting to face palm herself.

"Okay, I hate this guy, but I like this story so far." Doctor Kurosaki commented, making Ritsu laugh lightly before composing herself, "I just need to work things out, transfer to a different department and move to a new apartment." she said, mostly to herself.

The last part confused the doctor, "I'm sorry, but why do you need to change apartments, it's not like this guy lives right next to you, or something." she said smirking.

"He's also my next door neighbor." Ritsu said, almost uncomfortably.

It was the doctor's turn to have dinner plates for eyes, "Hold on, let me get this straight; the Father of your child...is your ex-boyfriend from high school, who is also your boss, and your next door neighbor?" she asked, trying to wrap her head around the situation.

Ritsu nodded, "Yes."

"Yep, you're doomed." was all Doctor Kurosaki said before she could process it.

"Gee, thanks, women in midlife crisis love to hear that." Ritsu said sarcastically.

"My apologies, let me rephrase that statement. How the fuck did that happen?" Doctor Kurosaki said, finding it hard to believe that a past lover could be their superior and neighbor.

Ritsu threw her hands up, "I don't know, the Gods have something against me apparently." she said in exasperation.

"Nah, they like to test the little guys, see how far they can push us until we fall off the edge face first. I speak from experience." Doctor Kurosaki said, pointing to herself for emphasis.

Despite herself, Ritsu laughed, finding the situation even more fucked up than she would've prefered, "I don't know what I'm doing anymore." she sniffed, her overstretched emotions getting the better of her.

Doctor Kurosaki composed herself and asked, "Well do you want this baby?"

Ritsu looked at the doctor with determination and protection on her face, "Of course I want this baby! It's something I want to wake up to and see when I come home from work." she declared, making Doctor Kurosaki smile at the determination in her voice.

"Now that's more like it." Doctor Kurosaki said, praising the young woman who blushed.

A thought came to the doctor's head, "But answer me this, how are you going to keep this hidden for the next 9 months? You can pass off the morning sickness as a stomach flu and the mood swings as the time of the month, but pretty soon, you're gonna show and your Baby-Daddy-Boss is going to bump into it." She said, stating the flaws of keeping this a secret.

Ritsu didn't think about that, "I'll try something, I'll think of something, maybe tell them I got fat out of depression." Doctor Kurosaki gave Ritsu a stony expression that basically told her it was a stupid excuse.

"I don't know. But I have to keep this job, I don't want to have to rely on my Father or my boss to take care of me or my baby. I know what kind of looks everyone will give me the moment they find out about it's Father." Ritsu said, looking down, feeling utterly hopeless knowing that her boss wasn't stupid enough to fall for such a thing.

Doctor Kurosaki felt sympathy for Ritsu, knowing how hard it's going to be as a single Mother. She wove her fingers together and rested her mouth on it, "Even if you move, you still work in the same company. He _will_ find out about the baby regardless." she leaned towards Ritsu, making sure their eyes were locked onto each other, "It is best that you tell him right away, before you start to show." she advised, not wanting Ritsu to drag this out before it becomes inevitable.

Ritsu took in her words before nodding, her braid falling over her shoulder as she stood up and bowed in respect, "Thank you Doctor Kurosaki."

Doctor Kurosaki nodded in return before giving her her cell phone number, "Call me if you have any concerns or if you need someone to talk to."

Ritsu smiled at the beautiful woman as she took the card and nodded in thanks before she walked out of the office.

Ritsu exited the elevator once it reached her apartment floor. She took out her key as she proceeded to where her apartment was located. Pausing in front of her door, she turned to look at Masamune's door, contemplating whether or not she should disturb him. Unconsciously, her hand went to her belly where her child was located.

She took a deep breath before taking two steps toward Masamune's door and raised her fist in order to knock. However, she remained frozen, at war with herself about whether she should tell him now. Tears came to her eyes, feeling more scared than she's ever been. After about 10 seconds of standing in front of her boss' apartment, she lowered her hand to her side. She shook her head, ' _He doesn't need to know, at least not right now.'_ she thought to herself as she turned back to her apartment and shoved the key in.

"Onodera."

The voice snapped her head in its direction just as she opened the door. There stood in the door next to hers was Masamune with his ever stoic expression as he stared down at her.

"Goodnight Takano-san." Ritsu hastily said as she hurried into her apartment, not giving him a chance to reply as she locked the door shut, making sure he doesn't follow her inside. She took shuddering breaths in an attempt to calm her erratic heart. She slid against the door, feeling so emotionally drained from today's check up to keep herself on her feet. She hugged her knees in an attempt to shield herself and her child from the world as tears streamed down her cheeks. Burying her face into her knees, she sobbed quietly, allowing herself to cry before she can start again in the morning.

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 _ **Chapter 1 finished, I hope you enjoyed it.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Ritsu kept her head down as she entered the Emerald Department. No one has come in today, which was a good thing for her because she needs some alone time to finish the last pages of the manuscript before the deadline. The sooner she finishes, the sooner she can transfer to the Literature Department.

"Onodera."

Ritsu looked up to see Takano at the entrance staring at her. Not wanting to be rude, she nodded her head in greeting, "Good morning, Takano-san." she said before going back to her work, staying focused in order to try and be ahead of schedule.

Masamune kept his eyes on her from the entryway, still wondering what she was doing outside of his apartment yesterday. Moving to stand behind her, he looked over her shoulders to see her work on her storyboards with the vengeance, completely ignoring him.

Not being one to pass up the opportunity to have some alone time with his Ritsu, he laid his large hands on her shoulders and proceeded to give her a rub, finding knots that should not be present, "You slept on the floor again, didn't you, Ritsu?" Masamune guessed, massaging the knots out of Ritsu's muscles, making the woman groan in relief as the tension started to leave her body.

Ritsu chose to ignore his hands as she worked, "This time, it was against the wall. Now leave me alone while I finish my work, it's too early for you to be doing this right now." she said, trying to sound pissed off, but his hands were doing wonders to her aching shoulders.

Masamune wrapped his arms around Ritsu's front, making her gasp as he settled his head on her shoulder, close to her neck. Ritsu blushed at their proximity and turned her head to glare at her boss, "Do you need hearing aides as well, I told you to leave me alone."

Masamune didn't respond, instead, he nuzzled the tender spot on her neck that always drove her nuts. She gasped, gripping her pencil as Masamune began to kiss her neck, "Takano-san, we're at work, now is not the time. Let me do my job please." Ritsu protested as Masamune began to nibble on her ear and blew in it, making her gasp again.

"Does that mean we can do this when we get home?" He whispered in her ear teasingly.

Ritsu went red in the cheeks, "That's not what I meant." she exclaimed, trying to pull his arms away from her, "Someone might walk in."

Masamune smiled into her neck, "It's an hour until everyone arrives. This is the earliest I've seen you come here." he said, enjoying the feeling of her against his body.

Ritsu gritted her teeth, not wanting to give in to him, "Yeah, well, some of us would like to take our job seriously. So if you don't mind, I would be happy if I finish this immediately before the deadline." she growled, which in Masamune's opinion, made her sound sexy, but chose not to comment.

His hands traveled down her front, creeping into her shirt to caress her skin, "Don't rush things, just take your time to process and work things through." he said, rubbing her belly sensually and tenderly.

The moment he started rubbing her belly, Ritsu snapped out of it. With surprising speed and strength, she pulled his arms off of her, stood up from her chair and slapped him as she turned around. The sound of her hand coming in contact with his cheek echoed off the walls and made him turn his head to the right from the force.

Ritsu gasped and covered her mouth when she realized what she had just done. Masamune touched the part that stung from Ritsu's hand before staring at her in shock, not expecting her to slap him with such force.

Ritsu took a step back at the look of hurt in her ex's eyes before sprinting off to the restroom, not wanting to be in the same area as him.

Slamming the door and locking it behind her, she panted as she leaned over the sink, not really understanding why she did what she did. Tears came to her eyes once more as her hormones began to take hold of her again. Splashing water on her face, she washed away any upcoming tears that wished to come out of her eyes as she sniffled.

Looking into the mirror above the sink, she saw more bags under her eyes than was normal. Ritsu looks and feels excessively tired now with her pregnancy combined with the stress of work. Stepping away from the sink, she turned to the side and lifted the bottom of her shirt to touch her belly, noticing the subtle changes in her body, but not enough to draw attention...yet.

She also noticed that her breasts got a little bigger due to her pregnancy and cursed feeling how sore they are. ' _Great, just great. This will really be fun.'_ she thought sarcastically, already dreading the cravings, bad smells from one of her favorite foods, aching feet, and losing her ability to sleep on her stomach in the next few months.

She let out a breath as she pulled her shirt down to hide her belly before splashing more water on her face to cool her heated face as she stared at herself in the mirror, "You can do this Ritsu. You can get through this." she took a deep breath, "Just one soon-to-be swollen foot in front of the other." she said as she made her way to the door before unlocking it.

She cracked it open, keeping an eye out for her boss. When she saw that it was clear, she silently made her way back to her department. Arriving at her department, she saw Masamune working at his spot, his cheek still bright red. The moment he looked up, she turned her face down as she sat in her chair to continue working, not wanting to meet his eyes.

Soon enough, the floor was filled editors, but that didn't ease her nerves at all when she felt Masamune's eyes searing holes into her head. Every time someone asked about what happened to his cheek, she would go red with embarrassment when he said a cute girl got mad at him. Oh how she wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp just now.

After a long day, she faxed her edited manuscript to Mutou two days earlier before the deadline. This in turn earned her a few days off by Isaka who was very impressed with her effort and dedication. Ritsu almost jumped for joy when she was allowed to leave early. After picking up a transfer request application, she was inside the elevator ready to go home and fill out the application and figure out a place to live.

Pressing the first floor button, the doors started to close, "Hold that elevator!" Masamune exclaimed stopped the doors from closing with his hands before stepping inside. He stood beside Ritsu who nodded in acknowledgement before ignoring him, hoping that he would keep to himself this time.

"Onodera, I've been meaning to ask, what were you doing outside my apartment last night?" Masamune asked, turning his head in Ritsu's direction.

Ritsu blushed and clutched her bag tightly, "I don't know what you're talking about." she denied, refusing to look at him.

"You're a terrible liar." Masamune said, smirking lightly.

Her blush deepened as she turned her head to the side, away from Masamune, "Whether you believe me or not is your problem." she said, feeling foolish about last night, wishing she didn't approach his door.

Masamune merely stared at her, never did he take his eyes off her all day, noticing how her hands shook as she did her work and how pale she looked lately. Stepping towards her, he turned her around and placed his hand on her forehead, "What the hell are you doing?" Ritsu said, slapping his hand away from her forehead and taking a step back, keeping her eye on Masamune.

Masamune remained stoic as he stared at Ritsu, "You're sick, aren't you?" He asked watching Ritsu's reaction that turned from confusion to shock, "Wha-What are you talking about?" she asked, feeling caught.

Masamune narrowed his eyes at her, "Don't play dumb, something happened before you came home yesterday, didn't it?" he asked, backing her against the wall of the elevator.

Ritsu stared up at Masamune nervously, feeling cornered, again. "I don't see how it's any of your business what I do in my private life." she said, looking away from him, choosing to stay firm and not give in.

Masamune took her chin and forced her to look at him, "It _is_ my business when it involves you. If someone's bothering you, I have to know." Masamune said, not very happy with the possibility of someone touching what was his.

Ritsu pushed his hand away and glared up at him, "No one is bothering me, aside from you. So don't play the hero, I don't have time for this." she said before trying to move around him, but he caged her in with his arms on each side of her on the wall.

"Damit Takano-san." She said glaring at the taller man who had her trapped as she tried to push his arms away.

Masamune remained unmoving, "Tell me what's going on, and I'll let you go."

Ritsu glared at him for awhile before letting out an exasperated breath, "Fine. I've been thinking long and hard about this, and I've decided to transfer to the Literature Department." Masamune's eyes widened, "It's not healthy for me to work in the same area as my ex who doesn't have a clue what _personal space_ is and constantly trying to get into my pants. While I appreciated the opportunity to learn new things in publishing, I have to say that I must resign from Emerald and pursue my career in publishing literature." Ritsu said, feeling like she was swallowing acid.

Masamune could've sworn that his heart was being torn out of his chest as he listened to her explanation. This was just like before, only this time, they'll still be in the same building, except he won't be watching her from now on.

He slid his hands from the wall to her elbows, holding her as he stared down at her, "So you're gonna leave, just like that." he asked, an underline of emotions creeping in his voice.

Ritsu swallowed the lump in her throat at the sound of Masamune's voice, "Not immediately, I'm going to finish publishing Mutou-sensei's book. But after that, I'm gone. She did fine before I came here, so she's in good hands." she said, trying to keep her voice even and her emotions under control as she stared up at Masamune.

His grip on her arms tightened slightly, "Last night?" he asked, referring to her standing outside his apartment.

Ritsu felt like she was breaking apart, but she refused to show any form of weakness in front of him, "It was a lapse of judgement on my part, I thought of informing you of my decision last night, but then I figured that it was never your concern in the first place. I'm sorry if I disturbed you last night, but my decision is final." she said, trying to remain impassive, even as she trembled under his gaze.

Masamune stayed silent, feeling sick to his stomach at her words. Not being able to control himself, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, pouring all his emotions into that kiss to prevent himself from crying out loud.

Ritsu was at first shocked by the ferocious kiss before remembering where they were as she struggled to push him away. Her eyes averted to which floor the elevator is and saw that they were rapidly approaching the first floor. Masamune pulled away and took a step away from her just as the elevator dinged before the doors opened and she was out the doors.

She speed walked to the front door entrance, not wanting to draw attention to herself, but also not wanting her boss to catch up to her. As soon as she was outside the building, she clutched her chest in an attempt to calm her heart that wanted to jump out of her chest and run. She calmed somewhat before walking to the train station in order to get home and figure out where she has to move, trying to ignore the aching feeling in her chest.

* * *

 _ **Masamune can't catch a break, can he. I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you to those who reviewed and followed this story, it has made me happy.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Ritsu sat on the park bench with a shadowed expression, ' _You're such a coward, Ritsu.'_ she thought to herself as the warm breeze blew her bangs to the side. It has been over a week since that time in the elevator, and Masamune's advances have not seized. Every time she tries to be alone, he seems to find a way to be near her, even sneaking some touches when he's close to her or when she hands something to him. Time and time again, she thought of telling him about her pregnancy, but couldn't because she was just too afraid of what his reaction will be.

Ritsu sighed as she heard children laughing and playing with each other. Their sound made something flutter within her and touch her stomach, letting a smile come onto her face as she thought of what her child would be like. Would he/she have her eyes, her hair color, her love for reading?

"Onodera-san?"

Ritsu looked up to see and was shocked to see a familiar orange-brown hair, "Doctor Kurosaki?" she said in surprise seeing the beautiful woman out of her lab coat in something more casual.

"I'm not on my shift right now, call me Ichiru." Ichiru corrected, looking at Ritsu who remained sitting, "So how you been?" Ichiru asked, making Ritsu look down as a dark aura hung over her head, making the doctor sweat drop.

* * *

"Here you go." The ice cream man said as he handed Ichiru and Ritsu their plastic bowls of ice cream as the two girls nodded, "Thank you." before walking down the path in the park.

"So you really haven't told him?" Ichiru asked, taking a bite out of her ice cream.

Ritsu stirred her ice cream around with her spoon, "I chickened out."

Ichiru looked at Ritsu in question, "Ritsu-" "I know, I should've told him. But I was afraid of what would happen afterward if I say those words. Instead, I told him I was transferring to the Literature Department." Ritsu interrupted before taking a big bite of her ice cream.

"You _really_ told him that?" Ichiru asked, not believing how this woman could tell the father of her child that but not of her pregnancy.

"Like I said, I chickened out." Ritsu said as they both sat down on a park bench as they ate their ice dream.

"You know you can't avoid the subject forever. When you waddle into work and he runs into you, baby bump first, it's just going to get worse." Ichiru said, stating the obvious problem that's going to come in the next few months.

"Oh god, am I really going to waddle? I won't be able to run as fast when it comes to making the deadlines. I'm gonna get so fat." Ritsu said feeling dreadful fear of losing her figure.

Ichiru laughed into her spoon, "Relax, the worst that comes with having a baby bump is that you won't be able to tie your shoes. Which reminds me, wear soft house shoes when you're at home and soak them in a bucket of warm water, it helps with aching feet. Also, you're gonna need some maternity clothes so that the ones you're wearing currently don't explode." she advised, remembering how her own mother got swollen feet when she was pregnant with a second set of twins.

Ritsu laughed, feeling happy at Ichiru's way of cheering her up, "I'll keep that in mind." she said, before letting her mind wander to the child within her, "I just don't know what I'm doing right now." she said, worried about what she's gonna do when her child is born.

"Well, what _can_ do right now is finish the rest of my ice cream because you're gonna be eating for two for the next 8 to 9 months. Have fun turning food into a human." Ichiru said, handing her half eaten bowl to Ritsu who took it laughing at Ichiru's humor before eating both bowls of ice cream simultaneously.

"Thanks Ichiru-san, it's just that, am I really ready to be a Mom?" she asked, watching children play with their parents.

"There's no such thing as ready, you just jump on a moving train and try not to die." Ichiru said, making Ritsu give her a look that basically said, 'Are you kidding?'

Ichiru held her hands up in defence, "I'm just saying, when it comes to babies, anything could happen, so you have to be prepared for anything, even if you have to jump in head first and hope for the best." she explained, trying to make Ritsu feel better.

"Okay, that makes me feel a little better." Ritsu said, finishing off her second bowl of ice cream.

Ichiru took the two bowls and spoons and dropped them into the trash bin next to their bench before turning back to Ritsu, "Have you celebrated your pregnancy yet?"

Ritsu tilted her head in confusion, "No, why?" she asked, not understanding this change of subject.

"Because, since you're gonna enter motherhood, you might as well celebrate by going to one last night out before you set bedtime for your little one." Ichiru said, nodding towards Ritsu's belly.

Ritsu laid a hand on her stomach, "You realize I can't drink while I'm pregnant, right. In fact, that's probably one of the causes that got me pregnant." she said, blushing remembering how she woke up naked that morning with a hangover.

"Who said there was going to be alcohol? I'm proposing singing and dancing 'til we break our two inch heels." Ichiru explained, making Ritsu laugh again before continuing, "There's a karaoke/sushi bar that I go to when I have a night off, it's where I usually loosen up. Now they don't serve alcoholic drinks, but they make killer sushi that are to die for. So what do you think?" she finished, watching Ritsu's expression that looked interested by the prospect of having one last dance.

After contemplating the idea for about three minutes, she answered, "I don't have to wear anything fancy at this place, right?" she asked, making Ichiru smile before she sprang to her feet and pulled Ritsu along, "I've got the perfect dress for you." she sang as she dragged the shorter girl to her apartment.

* * *

"The dress looks great, but I feel ridiculous." Ritsu said as she changed in the bathroom.

"Come on Ri-chan, it's far too soon for you to be fat." Ichiru said as she put on her high heels that go with her sky blue dress with a silver neckline and lace located under her bosoms.

"No, it makes me feel like a hooker." Ritsu responded, sounding uncomfortable.

"Good, that means I did my job right. Time to feel sexy one more time and rock the dancefloor before your feet swell." Ichiru said, before standing in her heels.

The bathroom door opened and out walked Ritsu in her purple and blue dress that reached just above her knees, "Why is it that everytime you open your mouth, you either say something comforting or uncomfortable?" Ritsu said rhetorically with a blush staining her cheeks as she stood in her dress.

"It's how I usually make friends. Now come on, it's time for you and your little one to celebrate and dance together." Ichiru said, grabbing her purse and looping arms with Ritsu who smiled at Ichiru's comment before they both made their way to Ichiru's car.

Once they reached the karaoke/sushi bar, they got a booth that had a good view of the stage where people sang their favorite songs.

Ritsu took a sip of her strawberry smoothie as she listened to the songs customers sang, "This place is actually not bad." she said, looking at Ichiru who was literally inhaling a chocolate shake with a smile on her face.

"Told you you'd love this place." Ichiru said finishing her shake that arrived not five seconds ago.

Ritsu held her stomach tenderly as she tapped her foot to the music that made her feel happy and energetic for the first time since she found out she was pregnant.

"You feeling better?" Ichiru asked, noting the pleasant smile on Ritsu's face as she nodded to the music.

Ritsu's smile widened, "Much better, thank you. This place is amazing, I should've come here a long time ago." she said, watching people on the dancefloor having a good time.

"Glad you like it, but the fun isn't over until you dance." Ichiru said, just as **SoFly-Dreamer (Nerdhead & Toko)** began to play, "And here's the song that makes people want to shake their asses." she said, before getting out of her seat and pulling Ritsu to the dance floor, "Let's dance." she said as Ritsu giggled at Ichiru's excitement.

Throughout that song, Ritsu danced with Ichiru, following her lead and the beat of the music. She can't remember the last time she had this much fun, but for once, as she followed the flow of the song with Ichiru who danced back-to-back with her, she felt free and ready to take on the challenge that motherhood will bring. As the final verse of the song began, she could've sworn that her child was dancing inside her to the claps and cheers that went in time with the song. That in turn, made her overflow with happiness as she was finishing up her dance with Ichiru.

Once the song closed, everyone applauded the singers who bowed and got off the stage for the next singers to take the stage. Ritsu leaned on Ichiru who held her and dragged her tired ass back to their booth.

" _Now,_ I'm happy. This is my kind of high." Ritsu said, smiling as she was plopped back into her seat as Ichiru sat across from her again, "Best part is, it's healthy and infectious when you're burning off the calories." Ichiru added, fanning a tired Ritsu with the menu.

"This is exactly what the doctor ordered." Ritsu said, making Ichiru laugh at her joke, knowing who she's referring to.

The waiter arrived and set their plates of sushi down in front of them, "This looks really good. I forgot I'm starving." Ritsu said looking down at the food with Ichiru nodding in agreement. Ritsu's eyes caught sight of the chocolate chip cake, "Um, i didn't order that." she said, pointing to the sugary delight.

The waiter smiled, "That gentleman over there sent it." he said, pointing in the direction of the sender. Ritsu followed his finger and paled when she saw who it was, "Oh hell no." she said as the waiter made a quick getaway to serve more customers.

"What is it?" Ichiru asked, surprised at Ritsu's change in mood as she followed her gaze to the man across from their booth.

"Th-That's my boss." Ritsu said, blushing slightly as Masamune smiled at her before she averted her eyes back to Ichiru, still feeling his gaze on her.

Ichiru put the pieces together as she turned back to Ritsu, "You mean he's…?" she paused, staring at Ritsu who nodded before looking down at the cake that basically taunted her to eat it.

Ichiru shook her head, "You know what, forget about him, this night is about you, you're to celebrate a brand new start." she said taking a hold of Ritsu's hand and giving her a reassuring squeeze, making her look up into Ichiru's reassuring gaze before nodding, "Yeah, you're right, sorry." she said, making Ichiru smile a little.

Ichiru gave her another squeeze before picking up her chopsticks and picking up a sushi roll, "Now, here comes the choo-choo." she cooed cheekily as she held up a sushi roll to an unamused Ritsu who glared at Ichiru before taking the roll into her mouth and started chewing. Pink filled her cheeks at the flavor of the sushi as she ate the delicacy, "These _are_ to die for." Ritsu said before taking another bite from her own sushi plate.

"They're called King California Crunch Rolls. I eat this stuff all the everytime I come here." Ichiru said before digging into her own sushi plate.

"I can see why. I think I'll have a sushi overdose if I come here with you all the time." Ritsu said as she continued to eat, completely forgetting about Masamune.

Ichiru smiled, "Guess I found your craving." she said, savoring the taste of her crispy roll in her mouth, "Hope the little one likes it." she commented, staring at Ritsu's belly from over the table.

Ritsu bit into another roll, "Well, if it doesn't, I'll reward it with the chocolate cake for putting up with the sushi." she said before taking a sip of her smoothie.

"Knew you weren't gonna share." Ichiru said, pretending to sound hurt.

Ritsu laughed, "Relax, I'm not that greedy, you can have half." she said, eating the last roll before pushing the empty plate aside to take a bite out of the cake slice that was between them.

"By the way, have you found a new place to stay?" Ichiru asked, just about finished with her plate as Ritsu stuffed her face with cake.

Ritsu swallowed, "Not yet, I still have to finish Mutou-sensei's book and transfer to a different department before I can think of moving. One thing at a time for me please." she requested rather than complained as Ichiru took a bite out of the cake as well.

"That's good. At least you're thinking things through. Just be prepared for what's gonna happen soon." Ichiru said, indicating the baby bump that will come in a few months.

Ritsu nodded, taking one more bite of the cake, "I'm aware of that." she said before calling a waiter over for a to-go-box for the cake, "This whole thing is just mind boggling." she said before smiling, "But I'm really excited. This really helped a lot."

Ichiru smiled, "I'm glad. Just remember to contact me if you ever need someone to talk to. Also, try not to overdo it at work. I don't want you to stress over the little things, it's not healthy, especially for the baby." she said with worry as she grasped Ritsu's hand again in support.

Ritsu smiled at her concern which made her feel the weight lighten off her shoulders with this pregnancy, "Thank you Ichiru. You're a good person." she said, laying her hand on Ichiru's that still held hers.

"I'd also like to be your friend, if that is okay with you." Ichiru requested, making Ritsu smile and nod as the waiter came back with the to-go-box which Ritsu thanked him for as she transferred the cake into the box while Ichiru paid the bill. As soon as the bill was paid for, the two of them walked out to Ichiru's car, unaware of a third party that followed them silently.

* * *

 _ **Another one out, that was faster than anticipated. Chapter 4 will come up shortly. Leave me a review, hope you like my OC.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Warning: Lemon in this chapter.**_

* * *

Masamune usually came here because they made the best sushi in town, and the music drowns out his pain. He was quite surprised when he saw Ritsu enter the club with another woman who had orange-brown hair.

Masamune had been watching his Ritsu the moment he saw her on the dance floor, he couldn't keep his eyes off her glistening form that made her glow with the club lights. He wanted to approach her table, but decided against it when he saw her having fun with her friend. So he sent over the cake as a gesture instead. He felt a little dejected when she didn't smile at him the moment their eyes met from across the room. He felt worse when he saw the orange haired woman grasping Ritsu's hand and making her smile where he could not. He wanted to march over there and take Ritsu with him back to his apartment and remind her who she belonged to. However, he thought against it when he realized that it will only push her farther away than she was at the moment. He felt a little happy when Ritsu started eating the cake.

The moment they got up to leave, he followed Ritsu with his eyes as she and that woman exited the club before getting up to follow them.

"And here we are." Ichiru said, pulling up in front of Ritsu's apartment before the latter stepped out of the car, "Thanks for the ride, Ichiru. Maybe we could do this again sometime." Ritsu said, smiling at Ichiru when she came to the driver's side of the window.

Ichiru returned that smile, "Maybe we could. Just send meet text telling me when you're free and I'll see if we could set up a date. 'Til next time." she said before rolling up her window and driving away.

The moment the car disappeared from view, she walked into the building with the to-go-box in hand. Pressing the elevator button, the doors opened as she stepped inside before pressing the button that led to her floor. Just as the doors were about to close completely, a hand stopped them and a body shoved its way in, "AH! Oh, Takano-san." Ritsu said, recognizing the man as she placed a hand to her heart in an attempt to calm it down from the scare it endured.

Masamune panted, leaning against the wall as the doors closed and the elevator started to move. "Hello Ritsu-"

"It's Onodera." she corrected, but Masamune continued.

"-did you have fun with your friend?" he asked as Ritsu became surprised by his question before looking down, "I've had a lot of fun, and the sushi was pretty good." she answered, refusing to look up at him as he stood beside her once more.

"Did you also love the cake I sent you?" He asked, looking at the container in Ritsu's hand.

Ritsu's grip tightened around the container, remembering that it was him who sent it, "So it _was_ you, I was hoping that it was my imagination." the words left her mouth before she had time to think about what she was saying.

Masamune's expression didn't change as he stared at Ritsu, silently admiring how that dress hugged the curves she has always hidden at work, "Who's that friend, how did you meet her?" he asked, wanting to know about the woman that brought more smiles to Ritsu's face than he could in a lifetime.

"She's my doctor. I bumped into her at the park and we talked for a while." Ritsu smiled, remembering their conversations, "She talked me into going with her to that Sushi Bar to loosen up a little. Best night and best sushi I've had and I'm stress free at the moment. Don't ruin this for me." she glared the last part at Masamune.

"Why not a local bar, a can of beer always loosened you up." Masamune said, smirking as he recalled how drunk she was the last time they drank together.

Ritsu blushed, knowing what he was talking about as she faced forward again, "Well I prefer to keep a clear head when I'm no longer stressed out. I'm laying off the alcohol from now on." she said, still embarrassed for what happened the last time she got drunk.

Masamune continued to smirk, "As I recall, you were more open and you didn't glare at me as much when we were talking." he said, adding to her blush.

Anger welled up in her out of nowhere, "Yeah, well, I wanted to forget that you were my boss and my ex for a moment. It was a mistake on my part due to alcohol consumption." she said this with so much venom, that it took Masamune completely by surprise as the elevator stopped on their floor.

Ritsu walked out of the elevator in haste in order to get away from her ex as she made her way to her apartment door. Ritsu quickly found her key before inserting it into the keyhole before unlocking it and stepping inside to avoid her ex. However, Masamune quickly snuck up behind her and embraced her into a hug and moved them both inside the apartment before closing and locking the door behind them.

Ritsu gasped when he enveloped her, "T-Takano-san?" Masamune stayed silent, wanting to savor the contact for as long as he can before Ritsu escapes his grasp.

Ritsu struggled against him as always, refusing to give in to him even as he tightened his hold on her. "Takano-san, let me go." she growled out, her strength waning from the vain effort she was putting in her struggles.

Masamune still stayed silent as he picked up a squirming Ritsu and carried her through the apartment, tossing the container onto the coffee table as he made his way to her bedroom. He froze in his journey to her bedroom when he noticed boxes packed and taped shut. Ritsu continued to try and get out of his grasp before realizing that Masamune stopped moving and was staring at the boxes she had already packed for when she's ready to move apartments.

Masamune clutched her tighter, making her gasp when he constricted her movements completely when he realized that she was moving away from here, "So you're leaving this place as well." he stated, his voice filled with hurt and betrayal.

Ritsu's heart doubled at the emotion in his voice, "N-No, these came in from storage, they are keepsakes that I had my Father sent over." she stuttered, trying to get her lie across, afraid of what will happen next.

Masamune saw through her lies, "Such a terrible liar." he said before pulling her into her bedroom before throwing her onto her bed and crawling on top of her.

Ritsu tried to crawl backwards in an attempt to get away from him, but he held her down by the wrists. Try as she might to pull her wrists from his firm grip, she could not get him to loosen his hold.

"Get off of me!" Ritsu shouted, yet was once again ignored as Masamune transferred both wrists into one hand as he allowed his right hand to tangle itself into Ritsu's hair and kept her face turned to him. Before Ritsu could blink, Masamune planted his lips onto hers and started kissing her as though the world was about to end. Which for Masamune, it was. Masamune pulled away, a string of saliva connecting their mouths as Ritsu gasped for air, still flustered by the intensity of the kiss.

"Stop it already." Ritsu begged, her voice caught in her throat at the facial expression on Masamune's face. The emotions that played on his face resembled that of a man in agony, thirsting for something that would quench his pain.

Ritsu seized her struggles as she stared up at Masamune, "Ta-Takano-san." she gulped, feeling helpless under his scrutiny. She turned her face away, wanting to escape his hurtful gaze and the guilt that welled up in her knowing that it was because of her.

Masamune dove for her exposed neck, marking her as his once again as Ritsu gasped and moaned at the contact. His hands explored her body, tracing her curves slowly, as though to commit her very being to memory. She jolted when his hand traveled up her thigh under her skirt and started caressing it sensually.

She clenched her hands into fists as she shivered under his intimate touches, "Please...no." she begged, feeling her body heat up with Masamune's ministrations. The man above her pulled away, from her neck before gently taking a hold of her chin and making her look up at him.

She gasped at the near desperate look on Masamune as he stared down at her with tears pooling in his eyes. "Takano-san?" Ritsu said, guilt strangling her throat as Masamune kept their gazes locked onto each other. Masamune stole another kiss from her, letting all the love and affection he has for her pour into her lips.

Ritsu's remaining protests were muffled by his lips. Her wrists were free, yet they felt like heavy lead to her as her mind started to go blank from all the attention he was giving to her. Masamune broke the kiss to allow them to breathe as he lowered his mouth to her ear, "I love you." he whispered those same words to her; the three most delicate words that always threatened to break her resolve.

Tears sprang from her eyes as a tumult of emotion raged within her, "Taka-" he silenced her with another kiss before he lifted her up and settled her limp body on his lap. Her heavy arms gripped his shoulders, her mind telling to push him away while her body wanted the opposite.

Masamune's skilled hands found the zipper at her back, he pulled it down, the straps of her dress falling off her shoulders as he slipped the dress off of her along with her bra and underwear. Tossing her clothes to the floor, he laid Ritsu on her back before straddling her and kissing her along her collarbone and between the valley of her breasts as he gently kneaded her globes.

Ritsu whimpered and gasped at the soreness in her breasts, another ache that came with her pregnancy. Tears streamed down her temples when she remembered her pregnancy and that it is the father that is causing these conflicting feelings to stir within her.

Masamune crawled back up to her face and kissed away her tears before kissing her on the lips. Ritsu responded shyly as Masamune gently ground his hips into hers, making her gasp and giving him the opportunity to thrust his tongue into her mouth, intertwining their tongues together.

They broke away in order to breathe. Ritsu breathed in and out to steady her breathing. Looking up, she saw that Masamune shed himself of all of his clothes. Before she could dwell on the matter of how and when he became bare, she felt his fingers trace the outline of her vagina. His touch making her shiver in pleasure as he came back down to take her lips again. She gasped into his mouth as he thrusted his index finger into her, slowly working her until she was soaking his digit.

Ritsu thrusted into his finger, letting him know that her body needed more. Granting her request, he added a second finger and curled them inside her, brushing against that spot that made her squeal. Adding a third finger, he started curling and uncurling them against that spot, making her thrust her hips faster, trying to reach her climax as Masamune sucked at her neck.

She arched her back as her hand flew to her mouth to muffle the scream that came with her orgasm that shook her body and coat Masamune's fingers as she climaxed. Masamune kept his fingers inside her, prolonging her orgasm before he decided to pull them out. He ran his other hand through Ritsu's hair as she came down from her high while he licked his fingers clean of her essence, enjoying the taste that was Ritsu.

Ritsu rode out her high before she realized that Masamune knelt between her legs with something prodding her inner thigh. She gasped, looking up at her ex when she realized what he was about to do, "Masa-kun, please don't." she begged, pleading with her eyes as she held onto his shoulders, not having the strength to push him off.

Masamune smiled at the name she gave to him back in highschool, "I'll be gentle. Just hold on." he repeated the same words from their first time before he pushed himself into her slowly. He savored the pleasured expression on Ritsu's face as she gasped and moaned at his intrusion. Once he was fully inside her, he remained still as he peppered her face with kisses, relaxing her and letting her get used to his size again.

Ritsu took in shuddering breaths to calm herself as she felt herself losing to him again as he continued to give her kisses. He held her face in his hands, making sure that she was looking at him, "Here we go." was all he said before he slowly pulled out and started thrusting into her at a gentle pace.

Ritsu moaned louder as he slowing began to pick up the pace, "N-n-n-nnn-ah...oh...hmmm...Masa-kun" she tried to deny the feelings he was giving her, but as always, he overpowers her, not allowing her to fight back anymore.

Masamune kept kissing her as he made love to her, wanting this night to last because he knows that she will leave him again in the future. Ritsu transferring to the Literature Department was one thing, because at least she will still be in the same building as him. However, if/when Ritsu moves, he won't be able to have these moments with her. All the progress he made with her would vanish and he won't get another chance to have her all to himself. He knows that she loves him, and he knows that she knows too, yet that stubborn pride of hers always gets in the way of their future. He will use whatever chance he got to have her, no matter how long she runs, he will chase her forever until she gives in.

Masamune quickened his pace until he had Ritsu screaming into his mouth as he pushed them both towards the edge. Ritsu clawed at his back as she felt her end approaching with Masamune thrusting in and out of her faster and faster as his end a came closer as well.

Ritsu through her head back with a scream, arching her back as her orgasm shook her and her world exploded in white. Masamune followed soon after, stiffening above her and groaning as he spurted inside her, warming her insides as he trembled with her shaking body.

They both panted, both physically and emotionally exhausted from their activities. Masamune removed himself from within her body and fell to the side, wrapping an arm around a lethargic Ritsu who had absolutely no strength left to complain as sleep pulled her down.

Giving Ritsu one last kiss, he tucked her into his embrace, enveloping in a warm cocoon of flesh and warmth, "I love you." was all Ritsu heard before she went under, her dreams filled with a green eyed infant held in Masamune's arms.

* * *

 _ **I hope this was to your expectations. Sorry if I made Masamune a little OOC.**_


	5. Chapter 5

Ritsu sat at her desk as she typed her proposal, trying to ignore the looks Masamune has been sneaking her since they both got into work that morning. Ever since she got up that morning, Masamune brought her breakfast in bed and gave her a back rub while she ate. Good thing about that, she had the best breakfast a girl could ask for; the bad part, this is her boss who still won't give up on chasing her.

The back rub breakfast was one thing, but that shower in the morning...talk about persistence when he joined her in the shower. A part of her is just annoyed by his insistence, yet she couldn't help but enjoy his acts of affections, no matter how much she tries to rebuff him. To her, he acts like an attentive husband ready to please and protect his wife. This just makes things harder for her to move to a new place.

It was a relief for her when they both came into work, and things returned to normal...somewhat. Now they were back to boss and subordinate, which was good for her because it reminded her not to get involved with him unless it was work related.

Ritsu sighed as she continued her work, the sooner she transfers, the sooner she will be away from Masamune's gaze. This relationship is just not healthy for her, it's too stressful, especially when they're at work.

Speaking of stress, morning sickness has just hit the station. Closing her laptop in a calm manner, she got up and headed to the bathroom at a sedate pace, "Where are you going?" Kisa asked, wondering why her coworker just got up.

"Gotta use the restroom." was all Ritsu said before she was out of sight as she rushed to the bathroom with her mouth tightly closed to prevent any food that wished to come up from escaping. Stepping into the restroom, she ran to the farthest stall in order to avoid anyone that happened to hear her.

After emptying her stomach, she spat the taste out of her mouth and into the toilet before flushing. Ritsu sat on the toilet before taking out her cell phone and started to text her doctor friend.

 **Ritsu: Can I work at your place tonight?**

She waited a few seconds before she got a reply.

 **Ichiru K: Problems at work or at home?**

 **Ritsu: Both.**

There was a pause until Ichiru finally replied.

 **Ichiru K. Tell me when you get off work so I can pick you up.**

Ritsu almost cried as she texted back.

 **Ritsu: At 7 tonight in front of Marakawa Publishing. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

 **Ichiru K: Don't worry, we'll talk more when you get off work.**

Ritsu shut her phone off as she sighed in relief, resting her head in her hand, lack of sleep was really getting to her, and Masamune spending the night with her didn't help.

"Onodera-san?" Kisa's voice filled the restroom stalls, making Ritsu lift her head up before flushing the toilet again to show that she did go to the bathroom. "Yeah." Ritsu said opening her stall door as she made her way to the sink to splash water on her face and rinse her mouth out.

Kisa standing against the door looking at a disheveled Ritsu with surprise, "Geez, I know we're nearing the end of our cycle, but even you aren't this bad." she said, taking note of the paleness in Ritsu's face.

"Yeah, well, I'm reaching that point where I either want to jump off a cliff or drown myself. Maybe that way, I can get some real sleep." Ritsu said, a dark menacing aura hanging over her head that basically said, 'Do not fuck with me.'

Kisa took a step back, seeing for the first time how scary Ritsu can be, "S-Sorry Onodera-san. I'm just saying, because you don't look okay." Kisa said, raising her hands up in defence, scared for her life.

The aura above Ritsu disappeared as she splashed more water on her face, "This week has been tough on me lately." she said, fatigue already setting in her voice.

"Is this because of Takano-san?" Kisa asked, causing Ritsu to blush and look away, "It has nothing to do with him." she denied.

"Come on Ri-chan, everyone in Emerald knows that he's pining for you." This made Ritsu blush even more in embarrassment before Kisa added, "He's not as subtle as he thinks he is."

"It has nothing to do with him." Ritsu repeated before another wave of nausea hit her. Throwing a hand to her mouth, she made a mad dash to the closest stall and emptied out her insides again.

The retching sounds that Ritsu made caused Kisa to shiver in discomfort for her colleague. She nearly gagged at the splashing sounds that came with the vomit hitting the toilet bowl.

Ritsu flushed away her stomach contents before she opened the stall and trudged to the sink again, all too aware of Kisa's stare, "Don't tell anyone about this." Ritsu said, disgusted by the taste in her mouth before she rinsed her mouth out again.

Kisa dug in her pockets and took out a mint for Ritsu, "Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut. Tightly, because I feel nauseous now." Kisa said as Ritsu popped the mint into her mouth, allowing the the minty freshness to clean away the bad taste.

"Thank you, and sorry you had to hear all that." Ritsu apologized, feeling ashamed of being caught in such a position.

"What the hell happened?" Kisa asked as Ritsu leaned over the sink as she tried to control her breathing. Kisa's eyes wandered to Ritsu's belly, realizing that the clothes she's been wearing are little more baggier than usual, so it was hard to determine whether or not her suspicions were correct.

An idea struck Kisa, "Do you need a hug?"

Ritsu turned to stare at Kisa as though she was crazy as the latter beaconed her into a hug with an innocent expression. Not seeing the harm in the hug, she shrugged, "Sure, why not." she said as she and Kisa hugged.

"Ow, ow, son of a bitch." Ritsu pulled away to massage her sore breasts when they were squashed against Kisa's.

"I knew it." Kisa said, feeling triumphant as Ritsu continued to rub her aching breasts.

"Knew what?" Ritsu asked, red in the face as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sore boobs equals pregnancy. You're pregnant." Kisa said, smiling in excitement as her voice started to rise. Ritsu slapped a hand over Kisa's mouth and shushed the smaller woman, "Be quiet." she said before shutting her own mouth to stare at the closed door, listening to see if anyone was outside the restroom.

Ritsu let out a breath before staring at Kisa, "Listen to me Kisa, no one knows about my pregnancy yet. So please, I need you to keep quiet about this." she said, earning a nod from the other girl who still had her mouth covered.

Ritsu carefully removed her hand from Kisa's mouth who wore a shocked expression, "How long?" she asked quietly.

"Over ten weeks. Found out about a week ago." Ritsu answered, feeling a little reluctant.

"Who's the father." Kisa asked, wanting to know the details, finding this to be the most exciting thing to happen at Marakawa Publishing.

"I'd rather not talk about him." Ritsu shook her head.

"It's Takano-san." Kisa guessed, taking note of Ritsu's blush, knowing that she was right.

"He doesn't know. Please Kisa, he can't know, at least not yet, not until I have all my ducks in a row and I am in a different department." Ritsu said, begging her colleague to keep this a secret.

"But this is his baby, doesn't he deserve to know about it? This would really improve your relationship with each other." Kisa said, unable to understand why Ritsu would keep this from Takano.

"All I wanted was to keep things professional between us, regardless of our history. But with Takano," she took a deep breath, "he just doesn't give up, and this will complicate things at work, more so than usual." she said, looking at Kisa pleadingly, "Kisa, I'm begging you, help me keep this secret from getting out until I can figure out what to do next." she held the older-shorter woman's hands, needing more support than she ever asked for.

Kisa was torn, Ritsu looked desperate and in need of help, but Takano's her boss, she knew him longer and knows that he's sensitive underneath that hard exterior. However, after staring at the woman in front of her who is carrying her boss' baby...she knew she's gonna get fired for helping her keep this secret.

"My lips are sealed shut, I'll help you as best as I can, but you owe me." Kisa relented, knowing that there will be no way to avoid this the moment it reaches their boss.

Ritsu held her hands together as though she was in prayer, "Thank you Kisa. I'll make this up to you, I promise." she said as she hugged Kisa again before moving away quickly to hold her breasts, "Haaaa." She hissed in agony as she rubbed the soreness away.

Kisa failed to stifle her giggles under her hand as she stared at Ritsu, "The boobs will definitely help him realize it before the belly does." Kisa said, teasing Ritsu who glared at her, making Kisa giggle even more.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Ritsu said, still massaging her breasts as Kisa nodded.

"Did you need me for something earlier?" Ritsu asked, changing the subject.

Kisa's eyes widened when she remembered why she came in here for in the first place, "Oh yeah, Takano-san wanted me to come get you because you were taking so long and should not be slacking in your work."

Ritsu's mood worsened as she growled in anger, scaring Kisa, "This is one of the main reasons why I didn't want a relationship with him." she turned to Kisa who looked ready to make a run for it, "How good are you at lying?" Ritsu asked, getting close to her face.

Kisa sweatdropped, "Well, I made people think that I'm 18 whenever I want a date." she said, not understanding why Ritsu would ask such a question.

"That's good enough. I need you to make up an excuse to tell Takano-san why I took so long because he sees through my lies." Ritsu said, hissing quietly before Kisa nodded nervously.

Ritsu moved away and sighed, calming down a bit, "Good, let's get back to work." she said before opening the door to the restroom and walking back to her department. Kisa walked behind her, trying to come up with an excuse and fast.

Once they got back to their department, Masamune lifted his head up, "Onodera, what took you so long, there's work for you to do!" he said, obviously irritated.

Masamune was quite surprised when Ritsu never responded, instead, she continued her work as though nothing happened as she made up the work for the time she lost.

"Onodera-!" Masamune started, but Kisa came to his side quickly and cut him off by whispering something in his ear. First his face held curiosity, then shock, then disgust, and finally, understanding. He nodded as Kisa moved back to her desk and everyone went back to work.

Ritsu quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper before sliding it over to Kisa whose eyes moved to the message, " **What did you tell him?"**

Kisa scribbled a reply underneath that question, " **Does it matter, I lied to my superior for you!"** she added tic marks showing how mad she is right now.

Ritsu looked guilty before writing back, " **Sorry. Do you want to hang out this Sunday, you can bring a friend."**

Kisa read that and thought of Yukina who has been waiting for her to be free from work sometime. She wrote her final reply, " **I'll think about it."**

Ritsu smiled before taking the paper and crumpling up and throwing it in the trash bin to get rid of evidence. She continued her work, feeling a little happy that someone on the inside will help her keep her secret.

* * *

 _ **Hope you like the FemKisa. Sorry there wasn't much Masamune/Ritsu time in this one, but you'll see some in the next chapter along with Ichiru/Ritsu friendship.**_


	6. Chapter 6

Ritsu packed her bags as she looked up at the clock to see that it was almost seven. She already finished the majority of her work in the building, the rest she can do at home. Slinging the bag on her shoulder, she got up and made her way to the vending machine to have a quick drink before she left for the day.

At the vending machine, she kneeled down to get her energy drink that she will need for the rest of the night should she pull an all nighter. Bending down, she failed to notice a certain someone approach her from behind.

Standing straight she turned around only to bump into her boss. "Excuse me, sorry." she apologized before looking up to see Masamune holding her.

Ritsu blushed before taking a step back, "Uh, Takano-san." she said before moving out of the way of the vending machine.

"Have a good night." she made to walk away, but his voice stopped her, "Kisa told me what happened in the bathroom." she froze in her steps, "Oh really, what did she tell you?" she asked after a pause, feeling her heart pick up. ' _Don't tell me she went back on her word.'_ Ritsu thought to herself, feeling a little bit of panic.

Before she could contemplate what Kisa said, Masamune laid a hand on her head, "Don't worry, this happens all the time. Should've known you were approaching your time of the month." he said, making Ritsu freeze up, " _That's what she told him?"_ she thought exasperatedly to herself.

She looked to the side with a red face of embarrassment, "I'd rather not talk about it." she said, not really sure what Kisa said to sell the lie.

Masamune smiled at her cute red face as he moved his hand to her shoulder and stood directly behind her, "Relax, this happens all the time, it's natural for it to come unexpectedly. Just be glad that Kisa came along when she did, thankfully she had extra pads on her." he kissed the back of her head, "Next time, call me if you're in that situation."

Ritsu went even redder, imagining her boss going to the store and getting women's necessities and bringing it to work for her. No way would she live that one down, ever. "Thanks but no thanks, I can just phone Kisa if that ever happens again. 'Sides, it was a feminine matter, something you shouldn't concern yourself with." Ritsu said as politely as she could, shrugging his hand off her shoulder before walking towards the elevator.

Masamune followed close behind her, not wanting her out of his sight, "It is my concern when it comes to you. I know what women go through each month, especially when it comes to our department cycle." He said as Ritsu pressed the down button before the elevator doors opened.

Ritsu scoffed, "Yeah, fun being a girl." she said stepping into the elevator with Masamune, "See, if I were male, things would be so much easier for me; I wouldn't have these bodily problems at work AND you would leave me alone." she added with a grin as she pressed the first floor button before the doors closed.

Masamune smirked, "Highly impossible, I'd still capture you and get you to fall in love with me."

Ritsu whipped her head at him incredulously, "Did you even hear yourself just now?" ' _This guy just admitted to being bi so casually.'_

Masamune continued to smirk, "Yeah, I know what I said. You'd make an adorable boy by the way." he said, making Ritsu blush and turn away with that adorable pout, "Shut up, it was only a passing thought, I didn't ask for your opinion." she said, causing Masamune to chuckle in his throat.

"By the way, I'll be making dinner for us tonight. You still love curry, right?" Masamune said, already planning dinner and other activities for tonight.

Ritsu faced her ex with a blush, slightly surprised that he still remembered her favorite dish in high school, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll be doing my work at a friend's house." she said, clutching the bag strap as she politely declined.

"We can discuss work over dinner." Masamune offered, trying to persuade her to spend the night with him again.

Ritsu narrowed her eyes at him, "Nice try boss. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me ten or more times, shame on me." she said, blushing as she she faced forward.

Masamune chuckled, "I think you mean 'screw.' Screw me twenty-six times, shame on both of us." he said, keeping track of the number of times they coupled.

Ritsu turned beat red as she glared at her boss, "Screw off!" she fired back, steam coming off the top of her head.

Masamune smiled and laughed, finding it fun to banter with Ritsu who looked away with her ever blushing face. Ritsu couldn't help but feel tingly at Masamune's laugh, it almost made her laugh as well, but she refused to make such a sound due to her stubborn pride.

"You don't have to go through the trouble, at the end of the day, you're still my boss. I don't need you acting like my Mother when I come home from a hard day at school." Ritsu said, comparing Masamune to a mother hen. At that thought, she fought the laugh that wanted to burst out of her mouth.

"More like a husband actually." Masamune clarified.

Her breath hitched in her throat at that sentence. Blushing at the implication, she turned to Masamune again to see him smiling at her in a way that was all too familiar to her, meaning that he was planning something again.

She stayed silent, unable to respond to such a sentence that made her question her resolve in not falling in love. Thankfully, the ding of the elevator saved her from coming up with a response as the elevator doors opened before she scurried out of the confined space her boss shared with her.

"I'll see you tomorrow Takano-san." she said hastily as she made her quick escape through the lobby and out the front doors to see Ichiru's car parked out front. She made a mad dash towards the car upon sight in case Masamune decided to chase her.

Ichiru rolled down the window as Ritsu approached, taking note of the blush on the editor's cheeks. As soon as Ritsu arrived, she got into the passenger's side and buckled up while apologizing, "Sorry I kept you waiting." she said as the car started to move.

Ichiru smiled, keeping her eyes on the road, "Don't worry, I just arrived actually." she said, reassuring Ritsu. "So what's on your mind?" Ichiru asked, wanting to know what happened to make her not want to go back to her apartment.

Ritsu clutched her bag until her knuckles were white, "Can we talk about it at your house? I feel uncomfortable discussing it in the car." she said, her ex's actions from this morning to earlier still fresh in her head.

"Okay." Ichiru said as she continued to drive to her house. The car ride was filled with silence, but Ritsu's conflict was speaking in volumes.

Ritsu sat at Ichiru's dining room table as she worked on the storyboards. The inside of Ichiru's apartment was modern with some art pieces featuring samurais and antique katana displays hanging on the walls as decoration.

"Would you like some juice?" Ichiru offered from over the counter as she opened the fridge.

"Yes please." Ritsu said, finishing editing one storyboard before moving on to the next.

"Your ex wearing you down again?" Ichiru asked as she pulled out a half gallon of apple juice.

Ritsu nodded, blushing as she remembered all that happened that morning, "Like you wouldn't believe. He gave me a back rub while I had breakfast this morning." she said as Ichiru came over with a glass of apple juice in hand and gave it to her before she took a seat across from her.

Ichiru gave her an incredulous look, "You consider that a bad thing?" she asked, not understanding how a simple breakfast back rub could be a terrible thing to do for an old flame.

Ritsu continued, "It gets worse, the breakfast back rub in bed was one thing, but then he took a shower with me and drove me to work. Oh, and just before you arrived, he said that he would cook dinner for us, curry. When I compared him to a mother hen, he said he was more like a husband." she finished, her face red as she talked about what her ex did for her in a span of 12 hours.

Ichiru blinked, letting it all sink in before speaking, "From what you described, he definitely sounds like a husband." she said, completely unhelpful as Ritsu glared at her before she continued when Ichiru realized something, "Wait, he cooked you breakfast right? What the hell was he doing at your apartment in the first place?"

Ritsu went even redder before she looked down. She stayed silent before she spoke, "Last night, when you dropped me off, Takano-san forced his way into my apartment and we..." she paused, feeling shameful for giving into him last night.

"What, he forced himself on you and thought that doing all these nice things for you will make up for what he did?" Ichiru exclaimed, already coming up with ten different ways to skewer the bastard like a kabob.

Ritsu blushed as she tried to explain, "It's not like that. Yes he came into my apartment without asking, but when he saw the boxes I already packed..." she took a deep breath, "...he had that look in his eyes, like I stabbed him in the back and tore his heart out. Even while we were doing it, he still had that expression." she gripped her glass of apple juice as she remembered the look of desperation on Masamune's face, the look that had her choking on her guilt, "He was gentle with me, even though he forced himself on me."

She paused in order to collect her thoughts, "He's always been like that, ever since we met each other after 10 years, he's always trying to break my resolve and make me fall in love with him again. Every little thing he does to me when no one is around pisses me off because I've been trying to forget him for the past 10 years." She took a sip of her juice before continuing, "All I wanted to do was focus on my career and live an independent life away from my family. But no, he decided to come back into my life and get into my pants every chance he gets to 'make up' for lost times. It's so annoying." she said, finishing her rant as she let out a breath.

Ichiru stayed quiet throughout Ritsu's rant, choosing to listen and pick out the key details of Ritsu's relationship with her ex/boss/neighbor/father of her child. From what Ichiru has heard, Ritsu's ex has been trying to rekindle the flame he once had with Ritsu despite her outward rejection.

What Ritsu said about him having that pained expression during their last coupling had Ichiru curious. Ritsu should be angry at Masamune for forcing himself on her, but from the expression on the girl's face was reminiscent to that of guilt. Why would Ritsu feel guilty, like she was the one that committed a crime.

Ichiru rested her chin on her woven hands as she tried to evaluate Ritsu's feelings toward her ex. Guilt is usually associated when the person recognizes the wrong he or she has done involving someone they know.

A thought struck Ichiru as she stared at Ritsu, "Ritsu, I know that you and I just met, but I have to ask." she paused as Ritsu who nodded for her doctor friend to continue, "Are you in love with him?"

Ritsu stayed frozen in her seat at that question, for a long time she has fought with herself trying not to get caught up in Masamune's affections, but it was getting harder and harder each time. Somewhere deep inside, she liked how he chased her and never seemed to give up in trying to win back her love. However, that larger part of her very being refused to give up, no matter how much Masamune tries to make her give in. Their past relationship ended badly and should not be rekindled if it will only end in pain again.

"Ritsu?" Ichiru's voice broke her out of her thoughts as she shook her head to get rid of the fog that tends to settle over her when it involves Masamune.

"I don't know, what we had back in high school was a mistake when I confessed to him. But it also made me happy, even though it was only brief, he made me feel like I had a place to belong to." She felt tears well up when she remembered the moment that changed her view on love, "But then that bastard had to go and laugh when I asked him if he loved me." she said, her voice cracking as she remembered the humiliation she felt when her high school love laughed.

"Are you kidding me, what kind of high school moron laughs at such a question?" Ichiru asked rhetorically before saying, "Let me guess, you kicked him in the balls and went to study in America." Ichiru said, already seeing the story unfold with one foolish mistake on the ex's part.

"Close, actually it was the head and I studied abroad in England the next day." Ritsu said, making Ichiru smirk slightly, "I'd pay good money to see that kick." she said, picturing Ritsu going all karate kid on her ex.

Ritsu smiled a little at Ichiru's comment before continuing, "I'm not sure what my feelings are for him at this point, but I can't let it get in the way of raising my baby." she said, her hand traveling to her abdomen, gently stroking it. "I don't want to be in love...not again. I can't do it, not if it means getting hurt once more." she said, almost quietly, but Ichiru heard her.

Ichiru could literally sense confusion in the girl, "Ritsu, I know that this is difficult for you, especially with a baby on the way. However, most of us can't control our feelings half the time, we don't choose who we fall in love with, it just happens." she said, trying to coucil the girl on her feelings.

Ritsu nodded in understanding as she wiped at her eyes, preventing any tears that wanted to spill. She felt a hand land on her shoulder, making her look up to see Ichiru standing up and looking at her with reassurance. She took the empty glass away from Ritsu, not really sure when she finished the juice, "Why don't we go to bed, you've done enough for today." she gently said, knowing that Ritsu needs a few extra hours of sleep with her condition.

Ritsu chose not to argue as she nodded, already feeling drained from today's events. With that, she gathered up the storyboards and placed them in her bag before following Ichiru to her bedroom.

Once she was changed into a set of nightclothes that Ichiru provided for her, she stepped out of the bathroom to see Ichiru setting up a futon for herself while Ritsu took the bed. "Are you sure you don't want to share the bed?" Ritsu asked as she crawled under the covers.

Ichiru smiled as she cuddled her pillow, "Nonsense, I'm fine down here. 'Sides, I tend to sleep like a starfish in the sun." she said, taking her sleeping habits into consideration.

Ritsu smiled, imagining how Ichiru sleeps as she got comfortable in the latter's foam mattress. Ritsu peeked over the edge of the bed to see Ichiru with her eyes still wide open and tracing patterns on the ceiling, "Ichiru?" Ritsu implored.

Said woman turned her eyes to Ritsu curiously, "Am I the only friend you spend time with?" she asked, wondering if whether or not Ichiru has other friends besides herself.

Ichiru smiled softly as she turned her gaze back to the ceiling, "If I'm being perfectly honest with myself, you're the only friend I have made in this town." she answered, not at all bothered by the question.

Ritsu blinked her eyes curiously, "How long have you lived here?"

Ichiru shrugged, "About 6 months, give or take. All of my friends are back home in Karakura Town." She paused as she thought of her friends.

"Have you always been a doctor?"

Ichiru smiled slightly, "Initially, I wanted to be a writer, but I found my other calling to be much more important because this world needs people who have the ability to preserve and give life." she said, a little sad that she gave up her other career choice.

Ritsu's interest was captured, "Have you written any stories?" she asked, wondering if Ichiru has ever published any.

Ichiru smiled grimly, "Only one, but I couldn't finish it. In fact, I didn't really want to finish it." she said, somewhat sadly as she thought of the book she didn't have the stomach to finish.

"How come?" Ritsu asked, not understanding why this woman would choose to give up.

Ichiru closed her eyes as she thought of her answer, "Because...then the adventure would be over. The moment I write the ending, it will be gone, I won't be able to keep the characters to myself. It will be like...like saying goodbye to my friends again." she said, obviously conflicted about her story.

"Then don't."

Ichiru faced Ritsu whose face peeked over the edge as she stared down at her, "Don't say goodbye; say 'Until I see you again. Only as a different person for another adventure.' The characters will always be there, so you will never have to say goodbye." Ritsu said, not really sure if what she said made any sense.

Ichiru stayed silent letting what Ritus said sink in before a wide smile crept onto her face. Before Ritsu could react, she was hugged with full force by Ichiru who embraced her with unbridled confidence, "Ri-chan...thank you."

Ritsu smiled, yet confused, "For what?"

"Just...thank you." Ichiru said before releasing Ritsu and slumping back into her futon.

Ritsu blinked in confusion before looking at Ichiru who was already knocked out and was sleeping, literally, like a starfish in the sun with her arms outstretched around her and her legs crossed on top of each other.

Ritsu couldn't help but smile at her friend as she got comfortable, placing a hand to her belly as sleep started to pull her under. But before she could, her cell phone that she laid under her pillow went off, retrieving it, she flipped it open to see that it was a text from her boss.

 _ **Meanwhile at Masamune's**_

The sole resident of the apartment sat against the door, listening for his Ritsu. Taking out his cellphone, he sent her a text to see when she would be home.

 **Masamune: When are you coming home?**

 **Ritsu: I'm spending the night at my friend's. Expect the storyboards by tomorrow. I'm going to sleep.**

Masamune gripped his phone, feeling further away from Ritsu than ever. He contemplated calling her so that he could hear her voice before he went to sleep, instead, he settled with sending her one last text.

 **Masamune: I love you. Sleep well.**

With that, he lifted himself up from the floor and made his way to his room in order to try and get some sleep.

 _ **Ritsu**_

Masamune's text stared as she read it, ' _Damnit Takano-san, why do you keep doing this to me.'_ Ritsu thought to herself as she closed her cellphone and placed it under her pillow. She went to sleep filled with unwanted thoughts of her ex.

* * *

 _ **Hope you enjoyed this. Leave a review if you want to see what happens next. Don't worry, he'll find out in a couple more chapters.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**WARNING: Hatori/Chiaki and Kisa/Yukina appear in this chapter.**_

* * *

Ritsu opened her eyes, feeling well rested as she turned over in bed. When she caught sight of the clock by Ichiru's bed, she screamed, "OH MY GOD, I'M LATE!" her outburst woke the whole apartment as she shot out of bed and rushed to find her clothes.

Ichiru calmly cooked breakfast in her kitchen as she heard Ritsu run around in a panic. Once her house guest ran into the dining room she asked, "Ichiru, do you know where my bag is?"

Ichiru set a plate of breakfast down in front of Ritsu, "Relax Ri-chan, you have plenty of time to turn you work in." she said in a calm manner as she turned off the stove.

"How can you be so calm?" Ritsu said, still panicking about missing work.

Ichiru smiled pleasantly, "I already called your work and told them that you were taking a sick day. I told them not to worry and that the storyboards will be delivered by this afternoon." she said informatively as she took a seat at the table before she started eating.

Ritsu calmed somewhat and asked, "And they took your word for it, just like that?"

Ichiru took a sip of her coffee, "I told them that I was your doctor and that you were staying the night with me." she answered, as though it was the most normal thing to do.

Ritsu breathed out a sigh of relief as shesat down and started eating the breakfast Ichiru made for her, "Thanks Ichiru, but, you didn't have to do that." she said as she bit into a sausage.

Ichiru smiled, "Nonsense. As a pregnant woman, you are required to have additional hours of sleep along with short naps when needed." she said, speaking as a doctor, "Also, I'll help you with your storyboards if you need it, I'm not on shift until this evening anyway." she added, her day pretty much cleared.

Ritsu smiled, "Thank you. I need all the help, and the sleep as I can get." she said as she continued to eat her breakfast before a thought came to her, "By the way, when do you think I'll start to show?" she asked, wondering when she will have her baby bump.

Ichiru answered without hesitation, "If you're a first-time Mom, you could begin developing a baby bump any time between 12 and 16 weeks." she said before an idea struck her, "If we finish the storyboards sooner, maybe we could go maternity clothes shopping. Think you'll be up for it?" she asked.

Ritsu rolled the idea in her head, better to do it sooner rather than later while her boss doesn't suspect a thing, "Might as well." she shrugged before inhaling her food and washing it in the sink at impossible speed.

Once the dishes were in the dish rack, she spotted her bag on the sofa and made a beeline toward it, "Time to get started." she said as she pulled the storyboards out and started working at a determined pace.

For three hours, she and Ichiru made corrections to the storyboards. By the end of it, it was already 2pm and Ritsu looked like she was gonna drop while Ichiru slumped in her couch, "Never thought editing manga could be that tiresome." Ichiru said, fanning herself before she cracked her neck.

"This was only a small portion and I've become even more exhausted." Ritsu said, feeling tired as she laid back on the couch.

Ichiru looked at Ritsu with sympathy before she got up from the couch and gathered the finished storyboards, "I'll drop these off at your work. You rest, that's an order." she said as she clipped the storyboards together and stashed it away in her bag before getting her coat and shoes.

Once she was out the door, she drove to Marakawa Publishing and went through the directions Ritsu wrote for her in order to get to the Emerald Department once she was inside the building.

"Okay, 4th floor… take two rights... walk pass three openings before you get to Emerald." Ichiru read as she followed the directions that were written in her hand. After asking an employee where Emerald was, she made her way in the direction pointed and swore that her breakfast was about to come up.

Her eyebrow twitched as she stared at the stressed out half-dead, or decomposing, editors with discomfort. ' _Okay, now I can understand why she would want to transfer out of this department. This is certainly not at all healthy for a pregnant woman.'_ she thought to herself, getting a whiff of someone who hadn't bathed in a month.

Not really sure how to proceed, she raised her hand and knocked on the entryway, "Um, excuse me, I'm here to make a delivery to someone named Takano. He's expecting a manuscript from Ritsu Onodera." she announced, a little awkward considering the atmosphere.

"Right here." Takano said at the head of his department as he straightened himself up tiredly.

"Okay, hold on a sec." Ichiru said as she walked through the war zone and stepped over a seemingly unconscious editor with black hair, "Excuse me, sorry." she apologized until she made it to the editor-in-chief.

She dug through her bag and handed him the manuscript, "Here you go." she said, breathing through her mouth seeing that she was at the center of the stink, ' _How has Ritsu survived this long?'_

"Thank you." Masamune said as he took the manuscript from her and asked, "How's Onodera doing?"

"She's doing fine right now, she's sleeping it off as we speak." Ichiru answered, not really wanting to be in this stench any longer.

What Masamune said next really pissed her off, "This is three days passed its deadline. You should not distract her so much; if she has time to fool around with you, she has time to get some work done." he said, a hint of jealousy creeping into his voice.

A tic mark sprouted on Ichiru's forehead at that comment, "Well, speaking as her doctor, she needs more sleep due to her fatigue and stress that came with this job. Considering how you run this place, I believe it will do her some good to transfer, hopefully the Literature Department will be less stressful and smelling less of decomposing flesh and depression." she said, looking at the dump of a department.

That sentence stung Masamune to the core as Ichiru continued, "By the way, I need you to read this out loud. Say it slowly then three times fast." she said handing him a slip of paper before backing away, leaving the room, but standing just outside the department to hear her classic prank.

Masamune unfolded the piece of paper and stared at the words in bewilderment before reading them out slowly, "I'm. Sofa. King. Stew. Ped." he said this aloud three times fast, earning him strange looks from his editors.

Realizing what she made him say, he yelled out, "Damn you!" scaring his editors as he stormed out of the department. He looked both ways to see that she was long gone.

' _I'm gonna kill that woman as soon as I find out who she is!'_

* * *

Ichiru laughed hysterically the moment she got in her car, that prank she pulled on that pissed off looking bastard made it all the funnier. She was saving that prank for that coworker of hers, Tsumori, because he would constantly flirt with her like an idiot. Guess she will have to wait until this evening, make him look stupider than he already was.

She could only imagine the look on Masamune's face as she drove home, serves him right for thinking he was better than Ritsu like that.

Arriving at her apartment she saw Ritsu still passed out on the couch. Not wanting to disturb her friend's restful sleep, she quietly made her way to her room and pulled out a tan envelope filled with printed out paper from her bedside drawer. Sitting at her laptop, she started typing away as she looked at her paper every now and then.

By 4pm, Ritsu and Ichiru were at the mall looking and buying maternity clothes. Ichiru pushed the shopping cart as Ritsu browsed through the clothes, occasionally pulling one out and adding it to the cart.

Ritsu held a pair of maternity pants with a matching top to her front as she stood in front of the mirror, "I'm not really sure how many I should get." she said, contemplating whether or not she should add this item to the cart.

Ichiru pulled out an adorable set of kitten pajamas and held it to Ritsu's front, "Your due date will be between November and December, so you're gonna need to stay bundled. As the old saying goes: better to have and not need it, than to need it and not have it." she said before adding the pajamas to the cart.

Ritsu smiled before adding in her item, "I guess you're right."

Ichiru pushed the cart as she faced her friend who walked beside her, "By the way, you plan on having any baby showers?"

Ritsu looked up at her friend before shrugging, "I don't know. Baby showers are basically parties, and I always have to smile at parties. This may seem a little bitchy, but I really don't like going to gatherings where I have to pretend I'm having a good time. 'Sides, I'm not all that close to my coworkers and you're my only friend here." she said before a cute pair of baby shoes caught her eye as she pulled them out and started cooing at them.

Ichiru shrugged, "Suit yourself, you and I would make plenty of friends, _and_ you get free stuff for the baby." she said cheekily as she got a hold of a baby teddy bear and danced it in front of Ritsu who smiled and giggled before taking the bear and holding it to her tummy.

"Actually, my coworker, Kisa already knows." Ichiru turned to Ritsu curiously for her to continue, "She walked in on me puking my guts out. Well, in short, she hugged me and my boobs started to hurt and she figured it out full circle. She promised to keep it a secret, and I owe her." she said before placing the teddy bear to the cart as the continued walking.

"Perhaps she will be up for a little outing at that karaoke bar. You said you loved the sushi and dancing is a great exercise during pregnancy. Not only do you get to move your body to music you love, but it will keep you flexible while toning your muscles." Ichiru said, proposing another girls night.

Ritsu smiled, "She would love that, hopefully. I hardly ever get to know my coworkers due to our hectic deadlines. Perfect opportunity to make friends with her. Oh, don't let her appearance fool you; she's a 30-year-old woman with the face and body of a teenager." Ritsu said, giving Ichiru a heads up.

Ichiru nodded, "I'll keep that in mind." she said as they found themselves in the baby clothes section. It was at this point, Ritsu wanted to stay in that department and be surrounded by cuteness. Stars sparkles around her as she danced from clothing rack to clothing rack, "I have died and gone to heaven. Oh my god, this one smells like vanilla." She sang as she sniffed a bunny onesie.

Ichiru couldn't help but smile at Ritsu's off world attitude, "I don't know what planet you went to, but please allow me to partake in the festivities." she said walking up to Ritsu who handed the vanilla scented onesie to her. Taking a whiff of the little article of clothing, "Yep, mini-Ritsu's gonna love it." she said before tossing it into the cart like a basketball.

Ritsu was in one of the best moods as she picked up one baby outfit after another, "Best day of my life." she said as her hand latched onto a onesie with a little bear on it at the same time as another hand.

"Oh, sorry, you first." she said releasing the outfit before looking up. She had a heart attack when she saw who it was, "Gah! Hatori, what are you doing here?" she said, backing away slightly as she stared up at her serious coworker, feeling like she was caught committing a crime.

Hatori blinked at the shorter girl, "I could ask you the same thing." he said, taking note of the bundle of clothes draped in Ritsu's arm.

Ritsu hid the clothes behind her back, "Hehe, eh, funny story here, I can explain." she laughed nervously, trying to come up with an excuse so that this doesn't reach Masamune.

"What going on Tori?" a young woman with brown hair tied up in a low ponytail and blue eyes came to Hatori's side. Hatori in turn faced the young woman with a soft expression as he showed her the onesie, "Oh my god, this will look adorable on him." she said, holding the onesie to her belly, making Hatori smile.

Ritsu could only watch in bewilderment, never had she seen the stoic second-in-command smile at anyone like that. "Am I seeing this right?" she said to herself, making the couple face her.

The woman tilted her head in question, "Hi, do you know Tori?" she asked, looking from Ritsu to Hatori curiously.

"She and I work in the Emerald Department." Hatori answered before asking, "What are you doing here exactly? Are you pregnant?" he said bluntly.

Ritsu went red at being caught, but quickly denied, "Hold on, who said I was pregnant?"

"Ri-chan, I found a maternity pillow for you!" Ichiru rolled in singing with the cart that had a huge pillow shaped to encompass a pregnant woman, "It will feel like you're being cuddled!" Ichiru added, stopping in front of them.

Ritsu stood frozen in her spot, knowing that she cannot deny the secret she was keeping in front of her coworker. She could not believe the awful timing her friend had, but couldn't find it within her to be mad knowing that she was only trying to help.

"Dr. Kurosaki?" Hatori said, recognizing the woman who stared back in confusion before recognizing the couple, "What the hell, Hatori and Chiaki-san." she said as she stepped away from the cart to approach them.

Ritsu who wore a shocked expression as Ichiru came to stand beside her, "Huh, you know them?" she asked, turning her face from Ichiru to the couple.

Ichiru smiled at Ritsu's confused expression, "Yeah, they came to me about five weeks ago for a little emergency and told them that this was something 9 months can't fix." Ichiru said turning to the couple who couldn't help but smile at the memory of finding out.

Ritsu connected the dots as she faced the couple with surprise, "You mean, Hatori you're..." she paused as the man in front of her held Chiaki's hand, "Mmhm, we are officially thirteen weeks." he said turning to face a blushing Chiaki who placed a hand to her belly and laughed lightly.

Ritsu clapped her hands together, "Oh my god, congratulations." she squealed as all three of them smiled at her reaction.

"Thank you." Hatori and Chiaki said before Chiaki asked, "So, how far along are you?"

Ritsu scratched the back of her head and said, "Um, well, about eleven weeks."

Chiaki brightened up, "This is fantastic, you and I are close. Oh by the way, I'm Chiaki Yoshino." she said, holding her hand out which Ritsu shook, "Ritsu Onodera. I can't believe Hatori never talked about you. Well done Hatori." she said turning to the tall man who blushed lightly at the implication.

Chiaki ignored his blush, "This came as a surprise for us." she said, touching her belly, "So where's your baby daddy, is he here?" she asked without thinking.

That dark aura hung over Ritsu as she fell silent at that question, making Chiaki and Hatori sweatdrop while Ichiru patted her back reassuringly, "It's kinda a long story." she said for Ritsu who nodded silently.

Hatori placed a hand under his chin, "Takano-san doesn't know, does he?" he guessed, making Ritsu shoot a glance at him, "How did you know?"

"You just told me." Hatori said, knowing that he got her.

Ritsu's head fell as she looked down, "Damn it." she cursed feeling foolish for being tricked so easily.

Ichiru decided to break the atmosphere, "Perhaps we could discuss this over lunch." she offered, trying to fan away that dark cloud.

* * *

All four of them sat in the food court with Chiaki and Hatori together on one side while Ichiru and Ritsu sat on the other. Each of them eating the food they paid for with their shopping bags by their feet.

"How long have you known?" Hatori asked, continuing the conversation from the maternity store.

"Couple of weeks now." Ritsu answered, sipping her soda through a straw.

"And you kept this from the father of your child. You realize you're gonna get in trouble since he's gonna be the last to hear about it." Hatori stated, eating a rice ball.

"Yes, I know, I'm screwed." Ritsu said, feeling like she's going through the same song and dance.

"More ways than one." Chiaki commented with a smile, making Ritsu glare at her, "Not helping." she said, a tic mark forming as Chiaki giggled in response.

Ichiru ignored their banter, "I know that you've heard this about hundred times already Ri-chan, but he _will_ find out eventually. He _has_ been keeping his eye on you constantly." she said, making Ritsu look down with a sigh.

"Yes, I know that, I just...don't know how to tell him. I don't want to give him an opportunity to break my heart again." Ritsu said, feeling insecure and uncertain about the future this child will bring.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he won't." Hatori said, making everyone turn to him in surprise, "If he can't accept having a baby in his life, then that's his loss. Having a baby means starting something that is new, it is another chapter to the story that no one can edit."

By the time he finished, all the girls at the table stared at him in surprise until Ichiru said, "Chiaki, don't you ever let him go. You can't find another man with a wistful and sensitive side."

Chiaki blushed as she took Hatori's hand that was under the table, "Don't worry, I don't plan to." she said, making Hatori smile as she leaned into him.

Ichiru whispered to Ritsu, "Is it just me, or are there tiny hearts flying off of them?"

"I think they put something in our sodas." Ritsu said, wondering about the same thing.

"Ri-chan, Hatori-san?" a voice made all four of the turn to see Kisa and a taller, princely looking young man holding hands with her while his other hand held a tray of food.

Ritsu's eyes widened when she recognized her coworker and asked, "Kisa-san, not that I'm unhappy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

Kisa was about to answer, but Yukina beat her to it, "We're on a date right now." he said, holding her hand tighter, making her blush and nod.

"You know, you girls have a knack for snagging the good looking and sensitive ones. Good job." Ichiru said, applauding them and making all the girls blush.

Kisa caught sight of the orange-brown haired woman and immediately recognized her, "Wait a second, you're that woman that stopped by this afternoon." Kisa said walking up to Ichiru.

Ichiru blinked, not recognizing this girl as she continued, "You stepped over me to hand in that manuscript, remember?"

Ichiru snapped her fingers when it all clicked, "Oh yeah, you were the dead body I stepped over-that came out wrong, sorry." she apologized, sweat dropping as everyone laughed, including Kisa.

Kisa waved it off, "That's fine. We were nearing the end of our cycle, so it's understandable." she laughed a bit more when she remembered what Ichiru did to Takano, "By the way, that prank you pulled on Takano-san was absolute gold, he was pissed." she said as Yukina pulled two more chairs and another table to join the rest before they sat down with their lunch.

"Wait, what prank?" Ritsu and Hatori asked, (Note: Hatori didn't come in that afternoon) turning to face the doctor who had a proud grin on her face, "Oh, just a little something that I was saving for one of my coworkers at the hospital. But, I figured since he pissed me off the first few seconds of meeting me, I'd pay him back." Ichiru said, that afternoon still fresh in her head as she smiled.

Everyone stared at Ichiru before Hatori asked again, "What was the prank exactly?"

"Well..." Ichiru began before pulling out a pen and sticky note from her purse and started writing. Once she was done, she gave it to Kisa who read it before handing it to Yukina with a snicker. Yukina gave it to Hatori, who gave it to Chiaki until it was finally passed to Ritsu who watched their facial expression change from serious/curious to smiling and laughing. Ritsu read the note and swore she almost pulled something when she doubled over in laughter which was joined by the others.

The note said: I'm. Sofa. King. Stew. Ped. = _I'm so fucking stupid._

"Oh my god! You really made him say that out loud?" Ritsu laughed, banging her hand on the table, trying but failing to calm her laughter down.

Ichiru laughed as she wiped the tears that were coming out of her eyes, "It was something I came up with while I was in high school."

Chiaki had to hold onto Hatori as she continued to laugh, "Holy shit, please grant me permission to use that in my stories." she asked, feeling a little inspired to draw something like this in her manga.

"By all means." Ichiru said as her laughter started to die down before she turned to Kisa who was calming down a bit, "Another thing, Kisa, was it?" Kisa nodded, "Hatori here knows about Ritsu's condition." Ichiru informed, making Kisa's eyes turn to Hatori who nodded before she asked, "What else is new?"

Chiaki nudged Hatori, silently telling him to tell his coworker the news, "Okay, well, we're pregnant as well." he said, with a hint of pride as Kisa squealed, "Congratulations." she said before jumping out of her seat to hug both Hatori and Chiaki who smiled as Yukina nodded and smiled in their direction.

Kisa went back to her seat, still smiling as Yukina wrapped an arm around her, "This is amazing, two of our editors are going to be parents. I'm gonna be a little lonely now." she said, pouting a little until Yukina kissed her cheek, making her blush and squeal at the act.

"Oh you're not gonna be lonely, which reminds me; is everyone here free on Sunday?" Ichiru asked, as everyone either shrugged, nodded or said not sure. "This Sunday, I propose that all of us, at this table, go to the Karaoke/Sushi Bar. Before you all ask why, it is so that Chiaki and Hatori here can celebrate their pregnancy with music, dancing and food." she turned to Kisa, "Also, as thanks for keeping Ritsu's secret, for which we owe you with quality food...and special time with Prince Charming over here." she said, making Kisa blush and Yukina smile.

Yukina pulled his girlfriend closer, "I think it's a great idea, I don't work on Sundays _and_ I always wanted to take you out dancing." he said, flashing his smile at a flustered Kisa who looked down shyly before saying, "I guess I can clear my schedule."

Ichiru pointed at the two of them, "Make sure you never let him outta your sight on Sunday." she warned before turning her attention on Hatori and Chiaki, "What about you two?"

Hatori hummed with a contemplative look on his face while Chiaki grabbed his arm, "Please, Tori? It might be fun, you and I have not gone out in a while and I don't always get a chance to have any girl time and I want to celebrate." she said, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

Hatori's eyes twitched as he tried to hold himself against her 'puppy-eye-attack', "We...probably have work that night." he said uncertainly.

Chiaki threw her arms around him and got close to his face from the side, increasing her 'puppy eyes', "Oh, c'mon Tori." she pleaded like a little girl wanting a toy.

"Yeah, c'mon Tori." Ritsu, Ichiru and Kisa echoed in the same manner, ganging up on him.

Yukina smiled and joined, "Yeah, c'mon Tori, you're outnumbered five to one here."

Hatori stared at everyone who ganged up on him before giving in, "Okay, just tell me when we should be there so that I can clear my schedule." he said, making Chiaki squeal and gave him kisses on the cheek before she and the rest of the girls high fived each other while Yukina clapped Hatori on the back.

"Sunday 6pm. You each have your car, right?" Ichiru asked, while Yukina said his was in the shop, but Hatori said that he and Chiaki can pick them up.

After exchanging contact numbers with each other, they all went their separate ways in their respective pairs.

Ichiru carried the bags to the car with Ritsu beside her, both of them continued to talk and laugh. Very soon, they were driving to Ritsu's apartment. Along the way, Ritsu dozed off a little until Ichiru woke her up the moment they arrived.

In the elevator, the two women stood side by side with Ritsu's bags around them as they traveled to the twelfth floor of the apartment building. Ritsu yawned, feeling tired from the whole day, despite it being being 7pm, "Sleepy?" Ichiru asked, taking note of Ritsu's yawn.

"A little?" Ritsu answered, smiling tiredly as the elevator reached her floor. They grabbed the shopping bags and walked towards Ritsu's apartment door. As soon as Ritsu opened the door, they dropped the bags in Ritsu's room where they organized and folded the clothes on the bed.

"I'm really sorry about the mess. I don't usually get enough time to clean up." Ritsu said in embarrassment as Ichiru stared at the piles of clothes strewn across the floor.

"Oh, don't be sorry. In fact, I can help you clean the place sometime this week when I'm free." Ichiru said, not really bothered by the mess, "You must have a clean and well organized environment for when you have a baby, but we'll get around to that by November." she said folding another onesie, "In the meantime, you must focus on getting plenty of rest. If you have to get up early in the morning, I can drop you off at work, so don't run to the subway. Also, if you must intake caffeine at work, limit your coffee to at least two mugs per day." she added, going into doctor mode as Ritsu absorbed her instructions.

Ritsu nodded as she listed off what Ichiru said, "Get a lot of sleep, keep your apartment clean and have only two mugs of coffee per day. Is that right?" she said as she placed all her maternity clothes in a drawer.

"Precisely." Ichiru said as she handed the onesies to Ritsu who placed them beside her maternity clothes in the drawer, "When do you usually go to work in the morning?" Ichiru asked, wanting to know when she should pick her up and take her to work.

"I'm out of my apartment at around 8 in the morning." Ritsu said, taking a seat on her bed as a wave of fatigue came over her, "If it's not too much trouble, I would like to go to sleep now." she said, looking at Ichiru apologetically.

Ichiru nodded as she helped Ritsu into bed, "Not at all, just get plenty of sleep. I'll pick you up in the morning." she said as she pulled the covers over Ritsu who smiled and nodded before falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

Ichiru quietly slipped out of Ritsu's apartment, making sure not to disturb her as she silently closed the apartment door. Just as she was walking away from Ritsu's apartment, the elevator doors dinged and out stepped Masamune who was surprised to see Ichiru here.

Ichiru nodded to him in acknowledgment, "Good evening." she said as she tried to walk passed Masamune, but his voice stopped her, "Is Ritsu alright?" he asked, not turning around to look at Ichiru.

Ichiru turned her head to Masamune's back, "She just fell asleep, if you wish to talk to her about something, wait until she comes to work." she answered in a business-like tone.

Masamune stayed silent for a moment, "I see, thank you. Have a good evening." he said before making his way to his apartment.

"Just so we're clear, if you ever hurt Ritsu in any shape or form...I promise I will kill you." Ichiru said threateningly as she stepped into the elevator.

Masamune's eyes widened before he turned to face Ichiru's expressionless eyes as the elevator doors closed, taking Ichiru back down to the parking garage.

Masamune stood in front of his door before facing Ritsu's, ' _Ritsu, what did you tell her?'_ was what came to his mind before entering his apartment, thoughts of Ritsu still swimming in his mind.

* * *

 _ **Longest chapter yet. I didn't know how else to end this, sorry. But I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and if you would be so kind as to leave me a review. We are getting closer to the big reveal, just be patient a little longer. You'll be getting more Masamune/Ritsu time in the next chapter.**_

 _ **Until next chapter. Thank you.**_


	8. Chapter 8

Ritsu got up at the precise time it takes for him to get ready and be out the door by eight. Never pausing as she made a beeline towards the elevator, not even bothering to see if her boss was awake or not.

Pressing the down button, the doors opened before she got inside. "Hold on, I'm coming in." Masamune said, rushing out of his apartment to join her before she pressed the first floor button as he came in. The doors closed, confining them inside as the elevator made its descent toward their destination.

"Good morning, Takano-san." Ritsu said out of habit and politeness, refusing to look at him.

"Good morning." He returned her greeting before saying, "I met your friend yesterday...twice."

"Twice?" Ritsu asked, sneaking a glance at her boss.

Masamune summarized, "Yes, once, when she dropped off your storyboards and last night when I was coming home. She doesn't like me apparently." he added, Ritsu had to hide a smile.

"Well, if it's you then it's understandable." Ritsu said, cheekily, Ichiru's personality seems to be rubbing off on her.

Masamune turned to her with an offended look, "Huh, what's that supposed to mean?"

Ritsu explained, "If you said something first in the first few seconds of meeting her the way you met me, then she has every right to not like you." she said, feeling confident with her answer as the doors dinged before she and Masamune walked out into the lobby and towards the entrance.

"You're not even gonna ask what the second time was about?" Masamune asked as he held the door open for her.

Ritsu ignored his gesture as she walked outside and stood outside, keeping an eye out for Ichiru's car before answering, "No, not interested, sorry." she said unapologetically.

"What did you tell her? About us I mean?" Masamune asked, wanting to know what she told her doctor friend.

"I merely told her that you were my boss, and coincidentally enough, my ex. Not that it is of any importance, I just complain about you to her." Ritsu said, trying to ignore his presence as he stood beside her against the concrete hedges that lined the pathway to the building entrance.

"And what _do_ you complain about?" Masamune asked, inching closer to Ritsu who still refused to look at him.

Ritsu kept her face straight, "Oh, the usual, you're insufferable at work, you're absolutely rude to your coworkers and you lack the ability to keep your hands to yourself when we're alone. All in all, it's annoying and irritating in and outside of work." she said, glaring behind her eyelids as she closed her eyes.

A long arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her to it's side, "You mean like this?" Masamune said as Ritsu looked up at his smirking face.

"Exactly!" Ritsu said, trying to get his arm off of her, but he only tightened his hold, not allowing her to leave his side, "We are in a public place, now is not the time for you to be doing something like this." she hissed, not wanting to draw attention as she looked down at her watch to see that it was 8:10am.

She tensed when his thumb stroked her shoulder, "Does that mean we can do it when we come home?" his voice whispered in her ear, making her blush, this simple act was not supposed to affect her. She turned her head away with a 'hmph', refusing to let him see her face as she pouted.

Masamune continued to stare at her, just now noticing how much her face is shining right now, almost as though it was being illuminated by something. Not being one to resist attraction and not caring if they were in a public place, he took a hold of her chin and kissed her full on the lips, enjoying the sweet taste that is Ritsu.

Ritsu stayed frozen, not finding it within her to kiss him back or push him away. It was as though her body was not her own and that someone has taken control of her limbs like she was a puppet with strings attached.

A car honking brought Ritsu out of her stupor as she turned around to see Ichiru waving at her from her car. Feeling blood rush to her cheeks, she broke away from Masamune and dashed to her ride, "I'll see you at work!" she said as she approached the car and quickly got in before they drove off.

The first few minutes during the car ride to Marukawa, Ritsu kept silent, feeling embarrassed for being caught in such a position by her friend. "Sorry I didn't get there sooner." Ichiru said as she made another turn towards their destination.

Ritsu faced Ichiru who kept her eyes on the road, "No, it's fine, I just got there actually." she said, hoping that Ichiru won't mention what she saw just now.

Ichiru smiled, "That's good, glad I didn't keep you waiting. Oh, before I forget, I made lunch." she said before she reached behind her seat without looking and pulled out a bento box before placing it in Ritsu's lap, "Make sure you eat all the veggies in there." Ritsu nodded with a smile.

"Thanks Ichiru. You didn't have to do this." Ritsu said, feeling guilty that her friend is doing these things for her.

"But I wanted to; I can't let my patient live off of energy drinks and convenience store foods forever." Ichiru said smiling before she pulled something out of her pocket, "Also, some breakfast." she said as she handed a plastic wrapped strawberry muffin to Ritsu who all but drooled at the sight of it. "You can go ahead and eat it." she said as Ritsu opened her treat and started eating it, savoring the taste in her mouth.

Ichiru giggled lightly to herself at Ritsu's childlike antics as Marukawa came into view. Stopping in front of the building she asked, "Would you like me to pick you up afterward?"

Ritsu nodded, "Sure." she opened the door to leave, "I'll see you after work." she said as she exited the car and made her way into the building, "Make sure you take it easy." Ichiru yelled from the opened window before driving away.

Getting inside the elevator, she lifted her hand to the 4th floor button. However, her vision started to get blurry and she felt herself swaying until she had to lean against the wall to steady herself. She closed her eyes and placed a hand to her forehead to try and get rid of the dizziness. Opening her eyes, she blinked a couple of times before standing straight, using the wall of the elevator for support as she raised a shaky hand to the 4th floor button.

As the elevator started moving, she stared at her hand, opening and closing it, still confused at her sudden dizziness, "What was that just now?" she asked herself, moving slightly to test if it will happen again. Thankfully, her vision cleared up as she arrived on the 4th floor.

When she got the Emerald Department, she saw that it was only Kisa present, "Good morning, Kisa?" Ritsu greeted as she sat down and took out her laptop.

Kisa looked up with a blush as she closed a text that was sent from her boyfriend, "G-Good morning, Ri-chan. How are you feeling?"

Ritsu shrugged, "63% of me still wants sleep, while the rest wants to get through the day without vomiting." she said, touching her stomach, hoping that her morning sickness doesn't act up.

"Do you think you can handle today's meeting? You still have that..." Kisa looked around to make sure no one was listening in before whispering, "...morning sickness happening on a daily basis right?"

"I've already emptied what I didn't have for breakfast before I walked out the door, hopefully that will be the end of it until I get home." Ritsu whispered, hating that part of the pregnancy the most.

Kisa gave a sympathetic look, "Ugh, worst way to wake up in the morning." she said, rubbing Ritsu's back.

Ritsu nodded as she typed at her laptop, "Yeah, no shit. I just have to get through the next ten hours without the symptoms getting in the way of my work, then I'll be home free." she said, her eyes looking up at the clock to see that it was still eight in the morning before continuing with her work.

Five hours later, Ritsu took a lunch break, bringing the bento box Ichiru gave her. Taking a seat at one of the tables in the break room, she opened her bento box and started eating the food Ichiru prepared for her.

' _Wow, this is good.'_ Ritsu thought to herself, enjoying the taste of Ichiru's cooking as she continued to eat happily, ' _Good food, done with my proposal, then after the meeting, goodbye Shojo Manga and hello Literature. Nothing can ruin this moment.'_ Ritsu smiled as she chewed her food, imaginary flowers floating around her, showing her happy mood.

Someone took a seat across from her, making her look up and the flowers to wither and die around her, ' _I spoke too soon.'_ she thought to herself as she gripped the chopsticks in her hand.

"Onodera," Masamune began, staring at her through hooded eyes and beneath his bangs, "there's something I need to talk to you about."

Ritsu interrupted him with a frown, "If it's about the meeting, then yes, I am going to attend."

"It's not that." Masamune said, gripping his cup of coffee, "I wanted to talk to you about something that has been bugging me lately." he said, staring at Ritsu intently, with her nodding for him to continue.

"I don't want you to go into Literature." Masamune blurted before he thought of how to voice it out.

Ritsu felt angry at this man for saying something so selfish, "Hmph, that is not for you to decide, Takano-san. You and I both know that I always wanted to work in Literature. Don't take this the wrong way, editing manga is great and all, but let's face it, I'm growing tired of working in that department. It's just unhealthy for me to continue working there." she said, trying to control her anger.

Masamune felt a deep sting at those words until he realized something, "You said it again."

Ritsu blinked, not understanding what he meant, "Huh?"

Masamune elaborated, "You said that it was 'unhealthy for you.' What exactly do you mean by it?"

Ritsu felt a little cornered at his statement. Not knowing how else to word it out, she said, "I-It's exactly as I said, it's not the best environment for me to further my career. I'm sorry if I offend you, but I can't continue working in such a place. Please excuse me." she said as she packed her lunch, losing her appetite as she got up and walked away from the table.

Her hand was caught in a familiar grip, making her turn around to see Masamune's hurt expression, "That doesn't explain anything." he said, refusing to believe that to be the end of it.

Ritsu glared as she clenched her hand, which was caught by her boss, into a fist, "Well you're just gonna have to live with my answer. I'm transferring, and that's the end of it." she said, trying to ignore that painful constriction around her heart when she said.

Masamune stepped closer to her, ignoring her attempt to leave his grasp, "There's something else, something you're not telling me. What is it you refuse to talk to me about?" he said, his face getting close to hers.

Ritsu went red at their proximity before she looked away, "There's nothing to talk about. Now let go, we have to get ready for the meeting that is happening in a half hour." she said, silently afraid of what she'll do if she remained in his presence for much longer.

Masamune didn't release her at first, only stared at her for a long while until he slowly loosened his grip on her. Ritsu stepped back before walking back towards the Emerald Department, leaving Masamune standing alone in the break room with a forlorn expression.

Ritsu walked back to her department with her head down, tears threatening to spill as she fought against that heart wrenching feeling in her chest. ' _I won't give him that chance; I refuse to let him break my heart again. Don't fall in love, don't fall in love, don't fall in love.'_ she repeated that mantra in her head as she wiped away at her eyes, erasing any oncoming tears that wanted to spring forth.

Reaching her department, she put on a cool and composed face as she gathered the papers needed for the meeting.

Kisa looked up at Ritsu, sensing something wrong with the younger woman, "Ri-chan, is everything okay?"

Ritsu turned to Kisa, her eyes red from unshed tears, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she said, her voice heavy with emotions which she tried to cover up.

Kisa wasn't fooled, she knew that this usually happens when their boss is involved, "Ri-chan, you're not okay. Maybe you should skip the meeting, tell them you feel sick." she said, obviously concerned as she stood up and started to rub Ritsu's back.

Ritsu shook her head, "I can't, this meeting is too important for me to skip. I have to-" she cut herself off, when she started to feel dizzy. Leaning over her desk, she placed her hand on her forehead as she took deep breaths.

Kisa steadied Ritsu when it looked like she was about to tip over, "Ri-chan!" she said in alarm.

Ritsu shook away the dizziness before turning back to Kisa with a reassuring expression that seemed weak, "I'm fine. I just-" she couldn't finish as her dizziness came back with full force that she started to sway. Kisa barely had time to catch her before Ritsu's legs gave out, "Ri-chan!" her exclamation caught the attention of the other editors and people who work on that floor as she lowered Ritsu to the ground.

Hatori and Mino rushed around the table to see Ritsu breathing shallowly as her head rested in Kisa's lap. Her unfocused eyes stared up at the concerned panicked faces of her colleagues as they rushed over to her side. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she knew that they were trying to help her.

Masamune was on his way back to Emerald when he heard a commotion that was gathering at his department. Wanting to know what was going on, he sped up his walk until her reached his department, the sight that greeted him made his blood run cold when he saw Ritsu on the ground in Kisa's lap, having a hard time breathing.

Without thinking, he rushed to Ritsu's side and knelt on the ground beside her, "Onodera!" he said, taking a near limp Ritsu from Kisa and holding her against himself, shaking her a little to try and get some response from her. When he got nothing, he looked up at the other editors, "What happened?" he demanded.

Kisa explained as best as she could, "I don't know what happened, one moment we were talking and then suddenly she started swaying before she collapsed."

Masamune turned his gaze to his other coworkers, "Then don't just stand around, call an ambulance!" he barked his order before he went back to trying to wake Ritsu up.

"Oi, Onodera, come on, you have to wake up." Masamune said gently, shaking her lightly to try and coax her awake.

Ritsu cracked her eyes open, but her vision was still blurry as she stared up at the concerned man holding her. In her mind, she thought she was dreaming when her blurry vision made out her ex back when they were in their high school days.

"M-M-Masa-k-kun." was all she was able to get out before her world went black, the last thing she heard was Masamune shouting her name as she succumbed to sleep.

* * *

 _ **You people really wanna kill me for leaving you hanging. Don't fret, next chapter is the one I have been dying to write for a long time. Also, a couple of characters from Junjou Romantica will make their cameo appearance.**_

 _ **Stay tuned, next chapter will be ready for you as soon as I get at least 5 reviews.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Ichiru sat at the cafeteria table as she ate her lunch, completely at ease after the number of patients she took care of in the span of five hours.

A familiar annoying light brown haired man sat across from her his lunch tray and a stupid smile, "Hey Ru-chan." he greeted, getting Ichiru's attention as she glared up at the pediatrician, "I asked you not to call me that."

Tsumori just continued to smile oh-so-innocently at her, "What? It's cute. So, how have you been?" Tsumori asked, wanting to engage in small talk with the attractive woman.

Ichiru decided to humor him, "Well, I've been hanging out with one of my patients who is expecting a baby and is having trouble telling her baby-daddy. But get this, the father was her ex from high school, her current boss and her neighbor." she summarized, making Tsumori's eyes widen.

"No way, tell me you're joking." Tsumori asked, incredulously as Ichiru shook her head, "I wish, total mind fuck when she first told me. I ran into her at the park where we chatted, then I took her to the karaoke/sushi bar and I went maternity clothes shopping with her yesterday." she added, earning an impressed look from Tsumori who listened intently.

"That's pretty neat. I never pegged you for someone who would hang out with one of her patients. Not that it's a bad thing." Tsumori said quickly, not wanting to insult her.

Ichiru shrugged as she took a bite out of her pasta, "She's been going through a rough transition and she needed my help. See, I met the father once when I delivered the papers for her when she had to take much needed rest, and let me tell you, he's more annoying than you." she said, pointing her chopsticks at Tsumori.

Tsumori had a mock hurt expression, "You are _so mean_ to me my beautiful Ru-chan." he whined, dramatically placing a hand to his heart.

Ichiru shook her head at this man, "Well you're second place on the Irritation List, deal with it." she said as a 186 cm man sat beside the pouting pediatrician, "Hello Kusama." she greeted.

Nowaki smiled in greeting, "Hello Kurosaki-san." he faced the moping man beside him with confusion, "Do I wanna know?" he asked, turning to Ichiru.

"Don't ask." was all Ichiru said until she caught sight of the bandage on the tall man's temple, "Aw hell, don't tell me you forgot to duck in the doorways again."

Nowaki lightly touched his injury, wincing slightly at how it throbs as the two stared at him, waiting for an answer, "No, my girlfriend smacked me with the wooden spoon." This raised Ichiru's eyebrows as Tsumori snickered behind his hand at Nowaki's misfortune.

"Huh?" Ichiru said, obviously confused and curious to know what happened.

"I came home, saw my Hikari glowing in her apron, making dinner, couldn't fight the attraction, tried to have her for dinner instead then 'whack'." Nowaki said, feeling a little discouraged when he tried to show his Hikari how much he missed her.

Tsumori turned away from Nowaki and doubled over in laughter at his friend's misfortune while Ichiru was struggling to keep a straight face when she pictured what Nowaki did to piss off his girlfriend. "Good for her." Was all Ichiru was able to get out as she smirked behind her hand, trying to keep from laughing like Tsumori.

"I appreciate your sympathy." Nowaki said sarcastically as he stared at his two laughing colleagues.

Ichiru removed her hand, but continued to smile in amusement, "Obviously, you've forgotten that some women during pregnancy are not always up to it when their partners demand attention. How long has it been for you, days, weeks, a month?" she asked, teasing her colleague.

Nowaki sighed, knowing he was not getting any help from either of them, "Yeah, I know, I just feel very lonely. She's already showing and seems to get angry at every little thing I do nowadays." he said, looking down at his tray as he pushed his food around.

Ichiru decided to council the poor boy, "Don't worry, it's natural for pregnant women to feel moody. By the time she gives birth, you'll both forget the whole thing. Although most of it is your fault considering since you got her pregnant in the first place." she added, teasing Nowaki with a shit eating grin.

Nowaki was unamused, "You know, her getting pregnant was partially your fault as well, you gave me that massage idea that resulted in this." he said, not really blaming her since it got him one of the best nights with Hikari.

Tsumori continued to laugh at that comment as Ichiru smiled in pride, "I know, I'm a genius, right?" she said rhetorically where Nowaki shook his head at her before smiling as he thought of Hikari.

"But you know, I'm still happy that I'm gonna be a Dad. Having this baby means a new start, I get to spend more time with Hikari, and I get a mini-Hikari to coddle." Nowaki said, imagining the bright side that will come when their baby is born.

Ichiru smiled in encouragement, "That's the spirit gentle giant. Let's hope that your kid inherits that self confidence you have." she said before giving him some helpful advice, "Oh, if you really want to get her into a good mood again, try rubbing her aching feet, that should give you some physical contact with her. You still have that massage oil I gave you, right?" Nowaki nodded, ready to give it a try when he gets home.

Just then, the sound of an ambulance siren approaching made Ichiru's shoot up before she got out of her chair and make her way to the window to see an ambulance park in front of the hospital entrance. The ambulance doors opened, and the paramedics stepped out, rolling out the gurney carrying "Ritsu?" Ichiru said out loud when she recognized the unconscious woman being rolled into the hospital.

Without so much as a thought, she rushed out of the cafeteria and down the hallway just as paramedics rolled Ritsu in with Masamune holding her hand as they moved her into a room. Ichiru followed them inside as they lifted Ritsu into the hospital bed, "What happened to Onodera-san?" she asked with underlying anger in her voice as she rushed to Ritsu's side and began checking her vitals.

Masamune answered, still holding Ritsu's hand, trying to remain calm, "I don't know, my coworkers were with her when she fainted, said she started to sway before she dropped." he said, gripping Ritsu's hand, willing her to wake up.

"How long ago was this? Has something like this happened to her before?" Ichiru question, shining a light in Ritsu's eyes to see if the pupils dilate, which they did thankfully.

Masamune checked the clock that was behind him, "About ten minutes ago; I'm not sure if this happened before. Sorry." he apologized, his eyes going back to Ritsu who remained unconscious.

Ichiru nodded, "That's fine." she paused before requesting, "Could you wait outside for a bit, there's something I have to check."

Masamune looked like he was about to protest, but he nodded in agreement as he left Ritsu's bedside and walked out of the room and stood against the wall beside the door. For a long time, at least that's what it felt like to him, he would glance at the door, waiting for the doctor to come out and tell him she's okay.

Earlier, he already called Yokozawa to tell him that he and Ritsu won't be attending the meeting due to Ritsu's condition. He never waited for a reply, he stayed by Ritsu's side the whole time as the paramedics came and brought her to the hospital.

The door opened as Ichiru walked out, sighing in relief as Masamune turned to face her, "How is she?"

Ichiru smiled, "She's stable, it was a mild case of stress and much needed rest. She's sleeping it off right now, she'll be fine when she wakes up." she said, this seemed to calm him down somewhat before he asked, "Can I see her right now?"

Ichiru frowned, shaking her head, "I'm afraid she shouldn't have visitors at the moment. However, there's something I need to talk to you about." he nodded, nervous on the inside as Ichiru led him to her office.

Once they were inside, Masamune sat in the chair that was in front of Ichiru and her desk as she took her seat behind said desk. Resting her chin on her woven fingers, she stared at Masamune with critical eyes before opening her mouth to speak, "Normally, I don't like interfering in affairs such as this, but due to Onodera's recent condition, I have no choice but to intervene right now." she said, closing her eyes, contemplating the consequences that might come with the decision she's about to make.

Masamune narrowed his eyes at her, not liking the fact that something regarding his Ritsu was being kept from him, "There's something else; something you both are hiding from me." he said, keeping his eyes on the doctor in front of him.

Ichiru opened her eyes, locking them with Masamune's, "First of all, Takano-san, I need to ask you something." he nodded, signalling for her to continue, "How much do you love her?" she asked, his eyes widening at her question.

Masamune clenched his hands into fists in his lap, "I love her with every fibre of my being; she's my first and only love." he said, before speaking his thoughts, "When I saw Ritsu lying there...in the middle of our department, unmoving, unresponsive, it felt like my life was ending right there. I was so terrified I would lose her again that I couldn't breathe." his heart clenched at the memory, "I've hung onto her for ten years, no matter who I was with, they couldn't replace her...I don't want to replace her. She's the only thing that keeps me tied to this Earth, and I can't let her go, not again." he finished, looking down so that the doctor doesn't see any tears that wanted to come down.

"You miserable son of a bitch, now you're making me cry." Ichiru said, sniffling as his words pulled at her heartstrings. He looked up as she pulled tissue paper out of the box and blew her nose before handing some to Masamune.

Once Ichiru was done taking the snot out of her nose, she tossed her last tissue into the trash bin before facing Masamune, "Now," she began, regaining her composure, "about Ritsu's real problem, it's nothing too serious. But Takano-san," she leaned forward with an expectant look in her eyes, "what I'm about to tell you, I need you to be 90% more sensitive, but no tears, I'm out of tissues. You see, Ritsu is going through something which is mostly your fault right now. Emotionally, she's constantly at war with herself when it comes to her feelings for you, it has increased physically due to her condition." she paused, in order to let Masamune absorb what she was telling him.

Taking a deep breath, she said the most heart stopping sentence that he's ever heard, "She's pregnant with your child." Masamune felt all breath leaving his body, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he remained frozen in his seat.

Ichiru found his unmoving silence a little disconcerting, "Takano? Excuse me, hello, yoohoo." she said, making her way around her desk to stand in front of the shocked man, "I said be sensitive not comatose. Earth to dummy, wake up." she snapped her fingers in his face, urging him to snap out of it until he blinked, coming out of his stupor.

"Oh, good, you're awake. Now, back to business." Ichiru said, going back to her seat as Masamune shook his head, still feeling shaken up by the earth shattering news.

"Ho-How long has she known?" he asked, unable to use his voice properly, but needing to know how long he's been kept in the dark about this.

"About two weeks. I'm quite impressed that she was able to keep this from with all your hovering in and out of work." Ichiru said, knowing that there's no going back, ' _I'm truly sorry about this Ri-chan, but this secret has already put your life at risk. I hope you can forgive me.'_ she thought to herself, feeling as though she has betrayed her friend.

Masamune looked down, feeling absolutely foolish for not picking up the signs, "Two weeks, huh?" he smiled ruefully, "Was she ever gonna tell me?" he asked, feeling like someone walked over him.

Ichiru caught the bitter tone in Masamune's voice, "Somewhere deep down, she wanted to tell you. However, in light of the circumstances, I must remind you that you are also her boss." She paused before continuing, "Bosses who father children with their employees sometimes don't give a shit about what happens to the mother, and often leaves them to care for their children on their own. An unmarried woman is often looked down upon for bearing children out of wedlock, and in the end, it is the children who pay the price." she said, keeping her narrowed eyes on Masamune whose eyes widened at what she just said.

Masamune looked down, feeling guilty for being angry at his Ritsu, "That's not gonna happen." he said with a new resolve, "She's not gonna raise our child on her own, I'm not letting my kid grow up not knowing who his/her father is like I did." he said, looking up at Ichiru with his mind set and his decision made.

Ichiru then smirked as she leaned back in her chair, "That's all I needed to hear, because this is a commitment that you can't walk away from." she said, making Masamune smirk, like hell is he walking away from the mother of his child.

She clapped her hands together, "Now, there's just one last bridge we must cross: you telling Ritsu that you know about the baby." she said, smiling as Masamune sighed, knowing that Ritsu's gonna be extremely stubborn, more so than usual.

"She's far too prideful to accept me into her life, especially with the baby on the way." Masamune said, mentally preparing himself for Ritsu's stubbornness that will come when she wakes up.

Ichiru grinned, "Don't worry, you're far too stubborn to accept defeat. Now, she will most likely kill me for telling you this, but Ritsu needs you for the duration of her pregnancy. Even though she doesn't want to admit, she needs your help, and I know she still has feelings for you underneath those glares she sends you." she said, almost fondly as she thought of her friend.

Masamune smiled at that, feeling a little better knowing that this baby-their baby-might be their best shot at being together at last. He had always wanted to have a family of his own, always wondered what it would be like to hold his very own infant in his arms for the first time. He always imagined coming home to hear his child rushing out to greet him the moment he steps inside their house with Ritsu following with their second newborn. That was the life he wanted with Ritsu, and this may finally be his chance to have it with her.

"Although, speaking as her best friend, I don't see what could make her fall in love with you. You don't look interesting and you look like you have a stick up your ass." Ichiru added with a smirk, finding her new hobby to be entertaining in the form of getting Masamune riled up.

Masamune glared at Ichiru who continued to smirk without shame, "You _really_ don't like me at all, do you?" he said, a tic-mark appearing on his head.

Ichiru shrugged, "Please, for the first few days when Ritsu talked about you, I never bothered to learn or even remember your name." she said, enjoy the look of anger on Masamune's face.

The telephone on her desk rang before she answered it, "Dr. Kurosaki speaking...okay, I'll be right there." she said before putting the phone down and addressing Masamune, "I'm needed elsewhere, you can visit Ritsu if you wish." she said as she got up from her chair and proceeded to the door with Masamune following close behind, "You remember where her room is, right?"

Masamune nodded, "Yes." he said before Ichiru paused and turned around, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him down to her level and whispered in his ear, "You know what, if you screw this up, I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands." she said before releasing him and leaving the office.

Masamune fixed his collar, failing to understand how Ritsu could be friends with such a woman before he exited her office and made his way to where Ritsu's room is located.

* * *

 _ **Show of hands, who laughed and who cried. This is my favorite chapter so far. I would like to extend a thank you to all who reviewed in the last chapter, they made me smile and motivate me to keep writing.**_

 _ **Help me reach 40 reviews, and I will update.**_


	10. Chapter 10

Ritsu groaned, cracking her eyes open then shutting them, not used to the light at that moment. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked around and saw that she was in a hospital room. Trying to move her body was like trying to move a ton of bricks, so the most she could do was move her head to the side to survey her surroundings.

What greeted her when she turned her head to the left, was a sleeping Takano slouched over the side of the hospital bed, his face turned towards hers as he rested his cheek on the blanket while he sat in the hospital chair. Something like this should've bothered her, but in all honesty, he looked absolutely adorable when he's sleeping.

Her attention, however, was his hand grasping her left hand that rested at her side. The warmth that came from his hand brought her comfort and peace, which made her smile as she unconsciously moved her lead-like hand over her middle to lay atop his. She sighed out lightly as that fluttering feeling within her made her smile widely.

Suddenly, it all came rushing back at her; that talk with Masamune, her interaction with Kisa, the dizziness, the meeting… "Oh God, the meeting!" she yelled out in panic jolting upright in bed and shocking Masamune out of his sleep as he shot up straight in his chair groggily.

Masamune blinked awake, not exactly happy with the rude awakening, "Um, Dr. Kurosaki, she's awake." he said blearily, even though said doctor wasn't in the room.

Ritsu turned to Masamune in panic, completely forgetting that he was still holding her hand, "Takano-san, what time is it? How long was I asleep? Oh God, we have to get to that meeting! Wait, where is my stuff, my proposal is in my bag!" she said in a flurry of panic and disarray.

Masamune felt a headache coming on as he placed his other hand to his, ' _Oh man, it's far too soon for me to have a headache. I liked her a lot better when she was asleep.'_ he thought to himself as he listened to her ramblings before he had enough, "Would you knock it off!" he exclaimed as he pushed her down on her back by her shoulder and held her hand beside her head.

Ritsu blinked up at him, wondering when and how he pinned her down. Masamune sighed and explained, "You collapsed at work just before the meeting, I already called them and told them that we won't be able to attend. You've been asleep for six hours; it's already evening, so everyone at Emerald has already gone home."

Ritsu's eyes widened before she sighed in frustration, turning her face to the right, "Shit! I was supposed to be at that meeting for Mutou-sensei's book. She's gonna be so disappointed." she said feeling disappointed in herself.

"I already called Mutou-sensei and told her what happened. She was worried and understood completely." Masamune said, easing her thoughts as she faced him again to see him smiling reassuringly at her.

Ritsu smiled shyly up at Masamune, "Thank you Takano-san. I'm sorry I put you through all that. I promise I'll make up for missing the meeting." she said, knowing that she owes her boss for having to deal with that drama.

Her breath hitched when his fingers traced the outer shell of her right ear, her eyes caught in Masamune's hazel colored ones, "Don't think about work right now, if anything, just focus on your recovery." he said squeezing her hand in reassurance.

"But-" Ritsu protested, but Masamune interrupted her in a voice that Ritsu never heard before, not even during their nights together, "Also, there is something you and I need to talk about, something...that you've been dealing with on your own for two weeks."

Her heart jumped in her throat at that sentence, feeling all color drain from her face, she tried to deny what he was talking about, "W-What are you talking about?" she stammered, trying to pull her hand that was still in Masamune's as she used her other hand to grab his other wrist that holding her shoulder to the bed.

Masamune kept still as he stared down at Ritsu with what one could describe as hurt, "Stop trying to lie to me Ritsu. Just stop..." his hurt filled voice made her stop her struggle, "...stop keeping things from me when you are only hurting yourself. You made me worry, I was scared when I saw you on the ground barely breathing." he said, burying his face in her neck as he tightened his hold on her, but not enough to hurt her.

"Takano-san." Ritsu said, feeling his breath burning against her neck.

He didn't move away from her, "I know...I already know." He said, placing a kiss on her neck before dragging his face between her breasts and down her belly until he reached just below her belly button. Turning his head so that he was looking up at Ritsu's blushing face, he pressed his ear against her belly, enjoying the warmth that came from it. He closed his eyes, focusing his attention on the fetus with Ritsu. He could feel it, just barely, but he knows that his child senses him as well.

Ritsu went red at the attention he was paying to her belly and couldn't stop the fluttering that came with it. "Um, Takano-san?" she said, not knowing what else to say as Masamune opened his eyes, looking straight at her before lifting her shirt just above her bellybutton and pressed a kiss to her abdomen.

This made her gasp and bite her lips, not wanting to make a sound as Masamune started to nuzzle her belly with his nose, making her giggle at the action. Masamune smirked before crawling back up to her face, "Congratulations mommy." he said before sealing her mouth with his.

' _He knows now. Guess there's no point in trying to hide it from him. How come I'm not panicking? I'll just blame it on the pregnancy.'_ Was what went on through Ritsu's head as she kissed him back and unconsciously moving her right hand to his back. Masamune in turn wove his right hand with her left as he deepened the kiss.

"'Ey you, hormones on legs, step away from my patient." Ichiru said from the doorway, "No way in hell am I washing another desecrated hospital bed like last time." Ichiru said to herself, directing her gaze to the pediatrician behind her as Masamune pulled away, glaring at the doctor who walked in with a much taller doctor who had black hair and blue eyes.

"You're still mad at me for that? I said I was sorry." the giant said blushing slightly as he stood beside Ichiru as she reexamined Ritsu, "How're you feeling?"

"I'm feeling alright actually. But I'm not sure why I dropped like that, that has never happened before." Ritsu said in confusion as Masamune helped her sit up and got her a drink of water.

Ichiru explained, "It was just a mild case of stress and fatigue combined with pregnancy while you were working. This happens most of the time with pregnant women who work full time jobs." she said before introducing the second doctor in the room, "Before I forget, the behemoth over here is Nowaki Kusama, he's a pediatrician who will answer any questions if and when I can't be around to help you."

Nowaki bowed in greeting, "Happy to be of help, also, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." he said before handing Ritsu his contact card.

Ritsu took the card and nodded in thanks while Masamune glared at the taller man, not liking the fact that this guy will be the person Ritsu would need to call if Ichiru's not around.

Nowaki noticed his glare, not wanting to be on the wrong foot, he held his hand out in greeting, "And I'm pleased to make your acquaintance as well." he said with a friendly smile.

Masamune took his hand and shook it, "Not sure if I should say the same thing to you." he said, being the complete opposite.

"Takano-san!" Ritsu said, appalled by his behavior before turning to Nowaki, "I'm truly sorry about him, he's usually not like this when meeting people." she said apologetically.

Nowaki continued to smile and waved off Takano's rudeness, "Oh it's fine, I get like this as well when someone looks to be itching for my girlfriend. Who, by the way, is five months pregnant. So you and I are in the same boat. She's already showing and men are still trying." Nowaki said, still mad at that handsy colleague of his Hikari.

Masamune nodded his head in agreement, changing his view on this guy instantaneously, "Congratulations, sorry about that." he apologized for real.

"You're going to be feeling this kind of overprotectiveness the more she starts to show." Ichiru quipped, testing Ritsu's blood pressure as the latter watched the exchange between the two men.

Ritsu then realized what Ichiru meant by that comment, "Oh my god, I'm going to be dealing with an overprotective Takano when I start getting fatter and fatter." Ritsu said, turning her face toward the ceiling.

Ichiru smiled at her discomfort, "It's nothing new, men merely follow their basic instincts where they strive to protect their mates and the children they carry. On that note, impregnating their mates is also a show and a sign warning other potential suitors that the woman has already been claimed. Oh, and on that second note about women showing, it is the physical manifestation of the man's virility which fills said man with a sense of pride and power." Ichiru said, basically explaining the inner workings of men when they father children.

"Take Kusama for instance, it was exactly what he felt which in turn earned him a spatula to the head when he foolishly attempted to release his urges onto her." Ichiru said, finishing her examination as she turned to Nowaki with a grin.

Ritsu guffawed, making Masamune chuckle into his fist while the center of ridicule nodded sarcastically, "It was a wooden spoon." he corrected before turning to Ichiru who continued to grin, "You made men out as though we were on Animal Planet." he said, not really offended since what she said about men during pregnancy was true.

Ichiru shrugged, "Just letting my patient know what she will be facing in the months to come. Speaking of which, you, mommy, are free to go." she said, facing Ritsu who continued to laugh.

Ritsu nodded, "Thank you." she turned to Nowaki, "Sorry for laughing." she apologized, still laughing.

Nowaki accepted her apology, "That's fine, it's funny...now." he said, not offended before he dismissed himself, "I gotta go home, my shift is up. See you tomorrow Kurosaki-san." he said as he left the room.

Ichiru turned her attention to the couple, "Now, before you go home," she pulled out a couple bottles of pills before pointing to the pills inside one of them, "these are nausea pills prescribed for pregnant woman. Make sure you take one in the morning, and one before bed." she said before handing them to Masamune, trusting that he keeps track of them.

She then handed them a couple of tri-fold brochures, "Also, you need 300 extra calories a day, so you're gonna have to maintain a well-balanced diet that incorporates the dietary guidelines including lean meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads and low fat dairy products." she added as Ritsu took the brochures given to her with a nod.

Ichiru gave them one last piece of advice as Ritsu started to get out of bed, "And I strongly advise against going to work. So right now, take a few days off, don't stress about work. If anything, now's the best time to give them them a call telling them about your condition." she said as Ritsu held onto Masamune for support in order to keep herself steady.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she is well rested. You agree that she should stay at my place, right?" Masamune said, earning a glare from Ritsu while Ichiru nodded, "Absolutely."

Ritsu protested, "Hold on, don't I get a say in this? I can take care of myself, Takano-san still has work." she said, still hanging onto Masamune as feeling came back to her legs after lying down for so long.

"Sorry Ritsu, but now's not the time for you to be independent. Know where that got you, dropping like rock in a river. Besides, his place is much cleaner than yours." Ichiru said, pointing at Masamune.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Ritsu said accusingly as she glared at her friend and doctor.

"Still on your side, but speaking as your doctor, I must ask that you lay off work and use that time to recover and...straighten some things out." Ichiru said, referring to Masamune.

Ritsu knew when she has to admit defeat in arguments such as this. With a sigh she said, "Okay fine, you win. But we're still doing that thing on Sunday, right?" she asked, not wanting to miss their get together at the Karaoke/Sushi bar.

Ichiru smiled, "If you're feeling better, we'll see about it." Ritsu pumped her fist victoriously before Ichiru added, "But you have to dedicate your time to getting better. I don't want your boss here calling me to come over and resuscitate you." she said in warning before the speaker called her name, needing her in another part of the hospital.

Ichiru clapped her hands together, "Well, gotta go, duty calls. Now you go home, I already called a cab, so eat a good meal, get a good night's rest and don't drink so much coffee. That means you Ritsu." she pointed at Masamune, "And you behave yourself." was the last thing she said before she left the room.

Masamune sat her back on the hospital bed before she put her shoes back on, "Quite an interesting friend you made." he commented as Ritsu's shoes were fastened to her feet before she stood up.

"She's really great, she's my only friend outside of work. " Ritsu said smiling as she and Masamune left the room.

"She irritates me." Masamune said bluntly as they approached the front door entrance of the hospital.

Ritsu turned to Masamune, "Why's that?" with curiosity masking her amusement, knowing about that prank Ichiru pulled on her boss.

"When it looks like she's being nice to me and is on my side, she turns around and makes me feel like an idiot." Masamune said as he held the door open for Ritsu to walk through before he followed.

Ritsu laughed, enjoying the irony that came his statement. Masamune narrowed his eyes at her as they approached the cab waiting in front of the entrance, "You like how she makes me look like a moron." he stated as he opened the cab door for her before joining her in the back seat as the cab driver took them to their apartment.

"Not really, no." Ritsu responded, still smiling as she watched the scenery change in the window.

"Then why are smiling?" Masamune asked, making Ritsu turn to him with that smile plastered onto her face, "You really don't see the irony, do you?"

"What irony?"

Ritsu pondered her answer for a second before speaking, "Well, let's see, I have a superior who works in the same department as me, and no matter how many times he and I seem to be getting along, he always finds a way to irritate me and say I'm half-assed." she said, giving him the stink-eye at the last part, "That doesn't sound familiar?"

It all suddenly clicked inside Masamune's head, "You're not saying..." he started as Ritsu nodded, "Mmhm, yeah I am."

Masamune stared off in realization, "Son of a bitch, she's me."

Ritsu smirked at his dumbstruck face, "Heh, how do you like them apples?" she said, smug with satisfaction.

"Actually," Masamune placed a hand on Ritsu's thigh that seemed to burn on contact, "I prefer your apples." he smiled pervertedly as he stroked her thigh.

Ritsu went red with anger and embarrassment before slamming the heel of her foot on his, making him retract his hand to hold his injured foot with a pained groan. She crossed her arms and legs before turning her head away with a 'hmph.'

The cab driver chuckled, "You were asking for that. You should no better than to flirt with your wife in a cab."

Ritsu faced the driver, "I resent that, I'm not his wife."

Masamune smirked as the pain faded, "Yet. Well you are the Mother of my child currently, so that's one step closer to us getting married."

Ritsu turned to Masamune, "Oh, don't get so cocky just because you lacked the restraint to keep it in your pants. Me getting fat and pissed off will be 85% your fault." she said, daring him to try and marry her.

"Why only 85%?" Masamune questioned, still smirking.

"5% for not quitting on the spot, 6% for not moving out of the apartment that was next to yours and 4% for not kicking you in the dick." Ritsu listed, counting off her fingers.

The driver couldn't help but be amused, "This is probably the best tip I had today. You two actually _do_ sound like an old married couple." he added smiling in the rearview mirror at them.

Masamune nodded in agreement, "Well, since most of it is my fault, it's only reasonable that I make sure you and our baby are well taken care of. Remember, the doctor said to take it easy and not to push yourself." he said, placing his hand on her thigh in order to comfort her.

Ritsu smiled slightly at his concern, "Thanks, sorry that you have to stay home from work." she said genuinely as she placed her hand on top of his.

Masamune smiled, "It's fine, 'sides, one of the best parts about this is that your apples will turn into melons." he said with perverted smile.

BAM!

Masamune held his cheek as he groaned in pain, not expecting that punch at all, "Okay, I'm adding random acts of violence to those symptoms." he said while Ritsu blew on her fist that had an obvious tic-mark on it.

"Well that was your fault, you don't seem to have an off button and you have a knack for ruining the moment." Ritsu said, crossing her arms and looking away childishly, "Pfft, melons." she scoffed as they arrived at their apartment building. They exited the cab as the driver yelled from his seat, "Congratulations and good luck." before driving away.

Masamune and Ritsu walked together inside the building and toward the elevator. They were silent as they stood in the elevator that was taking them to their floor, but Ritsu could feel his gaze on her.

Without asking for permission, he took her hand in his and interlocked their fingers together. Ritsu blushed as she snuck a glance at their hands, not even bothering to try and separate them, knowing that it would be useless seeing how she'll be spending the night with him.

They arrived on their floor, still holding hands as Masamune led her into his apartment where she took a seat on the couch and surfed through the channels while Masamune heated up some dinner.

Masamune came into the living room with their dinner where they started eating in front of the tv. Every now and then, one of them would make comments or ask questions about the movie they were watching, even laughing at some of the funny parts while they ate. Soon, they were both finished with their plates, and just settled with watching the rest of the movie.

Somewhere along the line, Ritsu leaned against Masamune who had his arm around her, keeping her close to him as they remained engrossed in the film. When the credits started to roll in, Ritsu nodded off in Masamune's hold, completely unaware of the world around her.

Masamune smiled, the pain in his cheek nothing more than a dull throb as he stared at her sleeping face. Being careful not to wake her, he picked her up and carried her bridal style to his bedroom.

Gently laying her on his bed, he carefully removed her clothes and dressed her in one of his shirts for her to sleep more comfortably in. Looking at her now, all sprawled out on his bed in his clothes, he couldn't help but be aroused by the sight of her. However, he chose not to do anything to her for health's sake, no matter how painfully aroused he was. Putting her under the covers, he begrudgingly left her side to take that cold shower.

After fifteen minutes of dousing himself in cold water, he was confident that he could sleep beside Ritsu without jumping her in her sleep...hopefully.

Exiting the bathroom, he saw Ritsu sleeping in a different position on her side facing the wall. Smiling softly, he climbed under the covers and gently spooned her, making sure not to wake her as he rested his palm on her belly. Ritsu groaned in her sleep as she shifted a little, "Masa-kun." she murmured in her sleep as her hand found its way to the large hand on her belly.

Masamune couldn't help but smile, feeling even more happy to be holding the mother of his child. This is just another step closer to having Ritsu as his own completely now that she is pregnant.

Closing his eyes with his hand weaving with hers, he fell asleep to the sound of Ritsu's breathing and to the fluttering that originated under Masamune's palm.

* * *

 _ **If you like it put your hands up and type a review. The next one might take a little longer to update, but I'm not giving up on this story, that I promise you. Until then, the more reviews I get, the more motivation I have to write.**_

 _ **Let's try for 50 reviews this time.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**WARNING: Emotions, humor and lemon in this one.**_

* * *

Ritsu woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen, that sizzling aroma made her stomach growl. Sitting up in bed, she stretched her muscles, popping some joints back into place.

Looking down, she saw that she was wearing one of Masamune's shirts. Blinking twice before it finally registered, she started to fume, ' _Oh hell no, he did not undress me last night!'_ was all that stormed through her mind as she clenched her fist in front of her, ' _The minute I get my hands on him I'm gonna-'_ her thoughts were cut off by her growling stomach.

Her head fell as her anger deflated, ' _Who am I kidding, this is not worth my morning...or breakfast.'_ she thought to herself as she got out of bed, the bottom of the oversized shirt reaching her mid-thigh, the collar falling off one shoulder and the sleeves ending at her elbows.

"At least he didn't make me sleep naked." she said to herself, blushing at the fact that he has already seen her bare multiple times when they did it. ' _Just my luck.'_ she thought to herself as she walked out of Masamune's room and through the living room until she saw Masamune in the kitchen making breakfast.

Masamune looked up and allowed his eyes to rove her figure dressed in his shirt, smirking at her blush from across the counter. "Good morning." he greeted as he continued to cook.

"Morning." Ritsu said as she sat at the kitchen counter, "What time did I knock out last night?" she asked, rubbing more sleep out of her eyes as juice appeared in front of her along with a nausea pill. Which she took without complaint as Masamune put away the carton and answered, "Around eight, maybe nine. You fell asleep on me, you were cute." he said smirking at the memory.

Ritsu went red with anger and embarrassment, "Shut up, full grown women are never cute, especially those who are pregnant." she said indignantly while Masamune continued to smirk.

"Okay, how about arousing?" Masamune asked casually as he filled two plates with their breakfasts.

Ritsu's face resembled that of a tomato, "That sounds worse!" she exclaimed as breakfast was placed in front of her.

"Well you do look enticing sleeping in my shirt." Masamune said taking a seat that was across from her as she glared, "Not my fault you perv! I didn't ask you to change me. The least you could've done was wake me up and save yourself the trouble. But then again, you would use every opportunity to try and-" she was halted in her rants when Masamune picked up an omelette roll with his chopsticks and shoved it into her mouth, effectively stopping her from talking.

"Okay, I get it." He responded dismissively before adding, "Although, to be fair, I did hold myself back out of respect for your health. So less complaining and more eating, the doctor said you need the extra calories." he said as he started eating off his own plate.

Ritsu looked like she wanted to argue, but after chewing the omelette roll that was in her mouth, she decided against it, "Alright, fine, I'll eat. But not because you told me too." she said stubbornly as she picked up her own chopsticks and started eating as well.

They ate in relatively comfortable silence, not knowing what they should talk about with all the tension that happened yesterday. Not willing to take the silence for much longer, she started to talk about work, "So, how are things at work, do you think they'll need you for anything?"

Masamune placed his mug down and answered, "I put Hatori in charge until I come back, and I already told our superiors that I'll be taking care of you over the next three to four days. So there's no biggie, you and I are covered."

At that moment, she remembered, "Did you...tell them about my..." she looked down, feeling embarrassed, "...you know." she finished, unable to say that word.

Masamune nodded, knowing that she will be mad at him, "Yes, but I wasn't the only one, I sent them your doctor's contact information to have her confirm it, so that way, they won't think that you are faking anything." he paused before adding, "Not that you are even capable of faking anything, just saying."

Ritsu scoffed, "Like I would do something so childish to get out of work, that's so beneath me." she said, feeling a little insulted as she continued eating breakfast.

"But you _did_ keep a secret for two weeks." That single sentence made Ritsu halt her movements, freezing her in place as those words made her heart clench and made her feel sick to her stomach. Most of her food was off of her plate, so she did not need to eat anymore.

Realizing what he just said, Masamune tried to explain, "Hold on, I didn't mean it like that. I just..." This was the first time he didn't know what to tell Ritsu.

"No it's fine, actually, this is something you and I really need to talk about." Ritsu said looking up at Masamune with nervousness, "Can we...talk on the couch?" she said, almost shyly as Masamune nodded.

Moving away from the counter, they both sat beside each other on the couch. Ritsu looked down at her hands that were clenched together on her knees, "To be honest, I don't know where to start." she said, feeling embarrassed and unconfident around Masamune.

"Then...can you tell me _why_ you felt that it was okay to do this on your own?" Masamune asked, wanting to know the real reason to why she thought it would be better for the both of them and their baby to do something like this alone.

Ritsu stayed silent as she closed her eyes, trying to find away to answer his question. Clenching her hands until her knuckles were white, she opened her eyes and stared ahead, unwilling to look Masamune in the eyes, "I was afraid...I was afraid because I didn't know if would give you another reason to chase after me or want me to get rid of the baby." Emotions welled up inside her, which she tried to control as she tried to talk, "Every time we are alone and you would tell me how much you loved me, I get scared. Every time I get scared I would always go back to that moment when I asked you if you had feelings for me and you laughed." she screwed her eyes shut to keep the tears inside, "I know that it was all a misunderstanding, but I...I don't want to face that kind of pain again by falling in love with you again only to be disappointed." she hiccupped, "Now with this baby on the way I don't know what the hell I'm doing or whatever the hell _we_ are. It's just so irritating because you're my boss and we work together constantly and all we seem to do is scream at each other and fuck each other afterward. It's _not_ the kind of relationship expecting parents are supposed to have with each other." she started blubbering, making it hard even for her to understand.

Masamune laid a hand on her back and started to rub, allowing her to let her emotions out as he wrapped his arms around her, trying to provide her some emotional support. "Shh, it's gonna be okay. We're gonna get through this, I know we can." he said, although he wasn't sure who he was trying to reassure; him or her.

Ritsu leaned into him, despite herself, seeking comfort and security from all the shit she's been putting herself and Masamune through, "I'm scared." she hiccupped, feeling like a little girl in need of shelter.

Masamune tightened his hold on her, "I know, I'm scared too." he said, letting her know that she's not alone in this situation, "But we're gonna get through this together." he added, pulling away to look her in the eyes.

Ritu sniffled and hiccupped, "What makes you believe that?" she asked, staring at him through blurry eyes as he brushed her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.

Masamune smiled, "Because you're far too stubborn and prideful to just give up." he said, making Ritsu laugh through her tears, "Says you." she said wiping her tears before adding, "Damn it, I hate crying. It makes me look weak."

Masamune touched their foreheads together, "Well it lets me know that you need me." he said be kissing her remaining tears away.

Ritsu smiled, feeling warm inside at his words, "Son of a bitch, that's the most corny thing you've ever said." she said, trying to remain stubborn despite the feelings that stirred inside her, "Just so we're clear, any emotional episodes I have, blame it on the pregnancy. Got it?"

Masamune pecked her on the forehead, "Whatever you say." he said before holding her to his chest, letting her cry whatever tears that were left within her. Ritsu allowed herself to be held by Masamune, feeling a great deal of weight being lifted off her shoulders as her tears started to dry.

They stayed like that for a long time, his arms and body a shield around a gem that was his Ritsu. No one allowed inside, and Ritsu never to move away without Masamune's protection.

Ritsu gripped the fabric of Masamune's shirt, "Takano-san." she said, gaining his attention before he pulled away slightly, but kept Ritsu in his hold. She looked up and took a deep breath, "Takano-san, I know that this isn't what you want to hear after what just happened, but we have other things that we must discuss." Masamune nodded, waiting for her to continue.

Ritsu took another breath before opening her mouth, "I'm still transferring to the Literature Department." Masamune opened her mouth to speak, but Ritsu held her hand up, "Let me finish." she said before continuing, "Now, I'm sure I've said this at least three times, but if I continue working in the Emerald Department, it will put me and the baby through a lot of stress. It's not like I'm blaming you or anything, I just need to start fresh in another department so that I don't slack off in my work while I'm still pregnant." she felt his arms tighten around her slightly.

"Those other guys down in Literature, most of them are single and will try to steal you away." Masamune said possessively, not liking the idea of his pregnant Ritsu dealing with those lonely bastards.

Ritsu scoffed, "Give it a rest Takano-san, no one is stealing me away. Hell, not even you." she said, glaring at him for his possessiveness. He, however, merely pulled her closer until they were nose-to-nose, "Not yet." he said smirking, making her blush at his words.

Ritsu placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed away from him, wanting some distance between while she can still talk, "Now you listen to me, I've always chosen to stay focused on the work I do, but considering a certain someone's persistence, I've had quite a bit of practice in trying to keep horny dogs at bay. 'Sides, you heard what Ichiru said, the moment I start showing, men will know that I will never go for them with a baby on the way." she smirked, "Also, they won't be interested in trying to have sex with a pregnant woman or becoming a father figure to my kid."

Masamune lowered his head to her face again, " _Our_ kid." he said as his hand traveled to her belly and started rubbing it. "I'm still not okay with the fact that you're gonna be out of my sight when we're at work." he said, keeping his tight grip on her, afraid that she'll disappear the moment he lets go.

Ritsu sighed, knowing that they're gonna be going around in circles with this topic. A thought struck her, "Okay, how about this; since you're gonna be a part of our baby's life outside of work, I'm willing to compromise. For starters; if I transfer to the Literature Department, I'll spend each night with you willingly." she paused, allowing her offer to sink in as Masamune's eyes widened in excitement.

"Really?" Masamune asked while Ritsu nodded, "Mmhm, this is gonna be a big change for both of us. We'll still work in the same building, but for the sake of the baby, we can't be boss and subordinate. That's not the kind of relationship our baby should grow up knowing." she added, laying her hand on top of Masamune's that was still on her belly.

"And what kind of relationship do you want?" Masamune asked, looking directly into Ritsu's eyes.

Ritsu looked down, not sure how to answer that since she doesn't know what their relationship is anymore, "I don't know, maybe one where one person doesn't make all the decisions on his or her own. I have a preference for one that's mainly beneficial when it comes to raising their child." she said, unsure what their relationship should be when it comes to their child.

Masamune lifted her face up by the chin, "You basically proposed the definition and terms of marriage just now." he said, making Ritsu flustered as she denied, "I did not, I am merely trying to figure out how this is supposed to work. We are on a time limit here; in nine months, we're going to be holding the tiniest human being that will be counting on us to protect and love him/her the moment he/she opens their eyes." she said as Masamune's smile widened.

Noticing his smile, she blushed and asked, trying to sound annoyed, "What the hell are you smiling for?"

He didn't answer, he just pulled her closer as he leaned back, taking her with him until she was sprawled across his chest. She lifted herself a little to keep most of her weight off of Masamune, "Takano-san?" she gave him a questioning gaze, not understanding his behavior.

Masamune stared up at his Ritsu before pulling her face towards his until their foreheads were touching again, "I'm just very happy right now. You said 'we' and 'us'." he said, making Ritsu's heart flutter like crazy.

She pursed her lips, "Well I have to, you and are are gonna be parents. So of course there's gonna be a lot of 'we,' a lot of 'us,' a lot of 'together' and 'ours.' I won't be able to get you off my back from now on you idiot." she ranted, but Masamune still kept smiling like he was the luckiest man in the world. "And will you stop smiling?"

Masamune didn't answer again, instead he kissed her full on the lips, conveying his answer through their lip lock. Ritsu should've expected something like this to happen, yet as always, Masamune seems to be able to get past her defences and steal another kiss from her. Ritsu shyly kissed him back, unable to find it within herself to refuse him as she melted in his embrace.

Masamune explored her mouth, feeling himself heat up as he sat up with Ritsu in his lap before he picked her up bridal style, moving them to the bedroom. Setting her on her back, his mouth planted itself on hers again, eager for her to respond as his hands traveled to her thighs. This made her gasp as he released her lips to give her butterfly kisses below her ear, along her jaw, nipping her chin and sucking at her neck.

Ritsu sighed as Masamune continued his ministrations, feeling more at ease as Masamune kissed her collarbone. For some reason, she lacked the strength to push him away, even though he's not holding her down. ' _Once again, I'll blame it on the pregnancy.'_ she thought to herself as his hands touched her belly from under her shirt.

Masamune lifted himself off of her, making her look up at him as he took off his long sleeved shirt. Ritsu blushed as she stared at Masamune's exposed chest, but when Masamune caught her stare smirking, she quickly turned her face away, feeling really shy under his gaze.

Masamune intertwined his hand into Ritsu's left that was beside her head, making her look up at him with the blush still present on her face, "T-Takano-san." she said, scared that she might say something embarrassing.

"Ritsu, tell me, do you still feel guilty?" he asked out of nowhere, making Ritsu look at him in confusion, "Wha-What are you talking about?" she asked, not understanding his question, but knowing that she should be nervous right now.

"The secret. Do you still feel guilty for keeping that secret?" Masamune clarified, his hand lifting her shirt just below her breasts before he splayed his hand across her abdomen.

Ritsu's breath caught in her throat, not knowing how else to respond, she turned her head away and nodded shamefully, unable to use her voice to admit her guilt.

Masamune continued to stare at her with hooded eyes as he squeezed her hand in reassurance while his other hand removed itself from her belly to caress her face, "It's gonna be alright. I'm gonna take the guilt away from you." his words made her turn back to him curiously, "What?" she asked, not understanding him.

Masamune lowered his face to hers, "If you feel guilty, I'll just have to punish it out of you." he said, a perverted smile coming onto his face.

Ritsu went red at his words, "W-W-What the hell are you saying?" she stammered out, unable to stop that tingling feeling those words created within her before she started pushing at his shoulders, "I don't know what's going on through your head right now Takano-san, but it ends here. Please excuse me." she said, successfully pushing Masamune away as she crawled to the edge of the bed.

However, Masamune intentionally allowed her to escape so that he could capture her again. When she just about reached the edge, Masamune took a hold of her ankles, and pulled her back towards him. This in turn, caused her to yelp as she was dragged on her stomach with the oversized shirt riding up.

When she was back in the middle of the bed, Masamune pinned her lower half down by straddling her thighs, preventing her escape. Not being one to give him satisfaction, she pushed her upper body up as best as she could in order to crawl away from him, "What the hell are you doing, get off of me." she growled, turning her head to glare at Masamune who remained smirking in his position, watching as she tried her best to get away from him.

Taking advantage of his position on top of Ritsu, his large hands touched the small of Ritsu's exposed back, making her gasp as she doubled her efforts to escape. His warm hands rubbed her lower back slowly, as though in warning before they traveled up her spine, causing her to shiver at the feeling.

Ritsu gripped the blanket, realizing that escape was futile at this point as long as her ex pinned her down. Before she knew it, the oversized shirt she was wearing had bunched up at her neck, exposing her whole back to Masamune sho continued rubbing and caressing it as though he was painting a picture.

She gasped when she felt hot lips leaving kisses on her upper back, "Ta-Takano-san." she gasped again when he gave her love bite before she felt him shift above her. Before she could react, Masamune took a hold of her hands in his and pinned them together above her head in order to remove her shirt properly.

Once the shirt was thrown onto the floor beside the bed, he attacked her neck from behind, leaving her hickeys wherever his lips touched. He ground his hips into her backside, making her breath hitch when she felt something hard poking her.

His lips nibbled the shell of her ear, "This what you do to me, just the mere presence of you is enough to bring out the beast in me." he whispered lustfully into her ear as he grinded into her again.

She couldn't fight the tingling sensation that made its way to her groin area, "Shut up, it's not my fault, I didn't do anything." she said before burying her head in the mattress as that tingling became more intense.

Masamune smiled before changing positions, keeping Ritsu's hands shackled together in one hand, he removed his body from her lower half. Kneeling beside her, he kneaded her butt-cheeks through her panties, causing her to moan into the blankets. Masamune smiled as he continued to fondle her cheeks, enjoying the sounds that came with it.

Deciding to take this to the next phase of Ritsu's punishment, he took off her panties and threw them off the bed to join the rest of their discarded clothes. No matter how many times he undressed Ritsu, he always found her silky soft skin irresistible to touch. Unable to hold himself, his hand snuck its way to her inner thigh and started touching it, making her gasp and clench her legs shut. However, the damage was already done as his fingers found themselves at her core, stroking her folds until he found her clit and started rolling it between his thumb and index finger.

Ritsu threw her head back as she gasped and whined at the pleasure that surprised her, "Takano-san, don't do that-" she gasped, "-I don't know how to deal with that." she begged, pulling against the grip he had her hands in.

Masamune continued to gently squeeze her clit, smiling when he felt her wetness leaking out of her, "Relax, just bear with it a little longer, it will all be over soon." he said before he moved a finger into her without warning, eliciting a scream out of Ritsu, "Ta-kano-san!" she squirmed, forcing more of his finger into her as she felt herself heat up to the boiling point.

Mindlessly, she spread her legs apart, silently begging for more as she was reaching her climax. Before she could reach completion, Masamune pulled his fingers out, making her groan at the loss.

"On your knees." Masamune instructed as he grabbed her hips and helped her shaking lower half up until her knees were apart and her butt was in the air. Ritsu on the other hand buried her head in the mattress in embarrassment because of how she must look in this position.

Masamune kept smiling, finding her shyness cute as ever before he caressed her cheeks again, making her gasp whenever he got close to her center but never touched, just enjoying the torture he was putting her through.

"Takano-san!" Ritsu whined, not sure how much more of this she could take as she felt that ache within her increase with every touch Masamune gives her.

"Masa-kun. Call me 'Masa-kun' like you used to." Masamune said, tracing her outer lips, making her twitch upon contact. When she didn't reply, he decided to punish her by taking her folds into his mouth, briefly sucking at her before releasing her with a pop, relishing in her cry of pleasure and disappointment.

"Say it." Masamune commanded, lightly touching her inner lips, making her squirm yet not saying anything. He removed his fingers and knelt in front of her core before he flicked it with his tongue and pulling away, causing her to whimper in discomfort as she felt his breath on her intimate area.

"Ma-Masa-kun, please." Ritsu begged, knowing she could not handle this kind of torture for much longer.

Masamune smirked, deciding to tease her a little bit more, "Please what?" he flicked his tongue across her clit, making her breath hitch before moving away again, "I can't give you what you want unless you tell me."

Ritsu wanted to scream in frustration, this was absolute torture for her, being kept from the brink at this bastard's hands. Swallowing her saliva, she parted her lips and gripped the blankets tightly, "Please Masa-kun...I need you, please...don't leave me like this." she begged, her painful voice reaching Masamune's ears.

"As you wish." was all she heard before he attached his mouth to her core and started sucking and licking her ravenously, making her buck and squeal at the sensation. "Masa-kun! Nngh!" she moaned, biting onto the fabric of the blanket to stifle her screams as pleasure attacked her every nerve with the vengeance.

That bubble came back, getting bigger and bigger with every movement of Masamune's mouth, bringing her closer to the edge again, "Ha...ha...Masa-kun." she moaned, feeling her end drawing near.

Just as she was about to reach climax again, Masamune stopped, making Ritsu whine at the loss, shakingly pushing herself to her hands to glare at him, "You bastard, why did you stop?" she growled, but it sounded weak to her.

Masamune ignored her anger ashe trailed kisses from her core, across her butt-cheeks and along her spine, allowing his hands to touch and draw patterns on her hips, underbelly and breasts. His lips and fingertips made her shiver as his mouth left kisses along her back until she was at her neck again.

Ritsu gasped when when she felt his fingers touching her clit while his other hand gently kneaded her right breast. She panted as pleasure burned in her lower region once again at his hands, "Masa-kun...why are you doing this to me?" she gasped out, needing relief from this agony.

Masamune sucked a sensitive spot on her neck, marking her once again before whispering to her, "I'm punishing you, remember? This is the only way I can take away your guilt." he took her earlobe in his mouth and started sucking on it, adding to her gasps as he continued his ministrations.

Ritsu's hips followed the movements of Masamune's fingers, wanting so badly to have that orgasm and go to sleep. "Masa-kun, please...stop teasing me, I need it...I need you." she begged, lowering her head as she closed her eyes, wanting this torture to end.

"And what do you need me to do exactly?" Masamune asked, feeling just as tormented by the sound she makes as he felt himself straining in his pants.

Ritsu stayed silent for a moment, still feeling his fingers pleasuring her center until she spoke almost quietly, "Take me...please…just take me and put an end to this...please." her voice rose with each word, pleading for him to have his way with her.

He removed his fingers, leaving her body lonely as she bit her lips to stop whatever cries that wanted to come forth. But then she heard the sound of a zipper followed by the rustling of clothes. Looking behind her, she saw that Masamune was just removing his pants and boxers, freeing his painfully hard member that stood proud and ready.

Ritsu swallowed, feeling herself burn at the sight of Masamune's penis that came closer to her heat. Looking up, she blushed when Masamune caught her staring at his penis before shooting her head forward, feeling a little embarrassed for staring.

"Ah!" she exclaimed in surprise when she felt the head at her entrance as Masamune's chest touched her back with his right arm planted next to Ritsu's to keep himself from crushing her. His other hand came around and turned her face towards him when his face was beside hers, "Ritsu, I love you." was all he said before sealing her mouth with his and pushing forward, inserting himself into her until he was completely sheathed inside.

Ritsu screamed into his mouth as pleasure all but exploded within her body as he started to thrust into her at a steady pace. Their tongues danced with each other as his left hand returned to Ritsu's clit and started playing with it, making her buck into him in surprise.

They separated in order to breathe as Masamune sucked and bit at her neck, all the while thrusting into her with quick strokes. Ritsu couldn't stop the sounds that fell out of her mouth as the pleasure attacked her body with vigorous strokes.

"Masa-kun!" she moaned as her arms gave out from under her, unable to take the strain as her upper body rested against the mattress with her cheek pressed into the blanket.

Masamune quickened his thrusts, feeling Ritsu tighten around him, signalling her end approaching as he went faster in order to join hers. Gripping her hips tightly, he grunted as sweat perspired all over their bodies from the heat that came with their love making.

Her muffled scream echoed in the bedroom when her orgasm took her by surprise and she spasmed in Masamune's hold while he groaned through his gritted teeth when he reached his climax. Masamune shook with his orgasm, struggling to keep himself upright in order to not fall on his Ritsu. As they rode out their high, Masamune carefully fell to his side, taking Ritsu with him as they panted from their love making.

He still remained inside of her, with her back to his chest, he curled his arms around her, spooning her just like he did last night. His right arms acted as a pillow for Ritsu as he turned her head to his in order to give her a deep kiss, basking in their afterglow.

Ritsu felt absolutely drained from their activities as Masamune continued to kiss her before he pulled away. Her eyelashes fluttered, still blurred from the dizzying pleasure that Masamune gave her even as she tried to glare at him, "You big bully." she couldn't come up with a proper insult as she pouted.

Masamune chuckled, kissing her again in response before replying, "Indeed I am. But tell me Ritsu, do you still feel guilty?" he asked, shifting, accidentally moving a little inside her, making her gasp at the sensation.

Ritsu ducked her head down, feeling blood rush to her cheeks before she answered, "After what you just did to me, no, I don't think I can." she said, feeling a little embarrassed.

Masamune smirked before he gently removed himself from her, making her sigh in relief as he held her, "Told you I could take away your guilt." he said smugly, giving her neck another kiss.

Ritsu yelped, almost giggling at the contact, "Shut up, I didn't ask you to. Cocky bastard." she couldn't help insulting him as she turned her head to glare at him.

"Choose your words more carefully, or I might do it again." Masamune said teasingly, but Ritsu shook her head, "No way, forget it, just let me go to sleep." Ritsu said quickly, panicking at the thought of going through that torture again.

Masamune chuckled under his breath as he moved them under the blankets until they were tucked in and spooning again. "I didn't say sleep beside me." Ritsu said, a little irked that Masamune refused to let go, but also content to being held like this. But there's no way in hell she would ever admit it.

Masamune snuggled her into his chest, "Well I'm tired too. Besides, I have to hold you, otherwise you might escape again." he said smirking, closing his eyes as he heard her growl at him, "Why do you do things that piss me off?" she said rhetorically, hating how his words made her feel warm inside.

"Because I want to." Masamune said cheekily, enjoying their little argument and her stubbornness.

"Why you little-Oh forget it, who am I kidding, it's not worth it right now. I'm going to sleep." Ritsu said stubbornly as she got comfortable in his embrace, getting ready to take her nap.

Masamune smiled, finding her quick temper adorable when she tries to act like she hates him. He himself relaxed as he held onto Ritsu, allowing their combined warmth to envelope each other as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **I hope this was worth the wait for you and that this chapter's lemon was up to your standards, because I'm outta juice!**_

 _ **To all my followers, leave me some feedback to keep me motivated, the more reviews I have the better.**_

 _ **Let's reach over 60 reviews everybody! XD**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**This one has a couple of surprises, maybe three. Enjoy.**_

* * *

Over the next four days since Ritsu has been recovering at her ex's, things have progressed for the most part between them. Yes, Ritsu is still stubborn as ever, and yes, Masamune is impulsive when it comes to the bedroom. Ritsu would still find reasons to try and keep her distance even though Masamune would only catch her each time and hold her. Slowly but surely, she has gotten used to his closeness, especially when he would rub her belly and nuzzle where their child is growing.

Today was Sunday, usually that meant no work for the Emerald editors. However, Masamune just received a call from work that needed him to retrieve a manuscript immediately.

"They want me to come in because the author's assistants are sick." Masamune grumbled as he got dressed, not very happy with the idea of leaving Ritsu alone.

Ritsu laid under the covers with the blanket covering her chest as she watched Masamune get dressed, "Nothing you can do about it, besides you can't use me as an excuse to skip work anymore seeing how I'm fully recovered." Ritsu said, still tired from last night's events.

Masamune sat on the bed as he put some socks on, "I don't want to leave you alone." he said, turning his head to Ritsu who rubbed her eyes, still feeling sleepy.

Ritsu yawned, "I'll be fine, you don't have to take care of me all the time." she said, too tired to argue with Masamune.

Her left hand was engulfed by a larger one as Masamune hovered over her, "But I want to. It gives me an opportunity to spend time with you." he said, giving her a kiss as his other hand rubbed her belly, letting their child know that he was still here.

A small smile and blush made its way onto her face as Masamune moved his face to her belly and pressed a kiss just below where the belly button is, "I'll be back soon. Make sure to take it easy on Mommy until I get back, okay." Masamune whispered to their unborn baby, making Ritsu smile wider despite herself.

He went back to her face and gave her one last kiss, "Call me if you need anything." he said with her nodding in response before pecking her on the forehead and getting up to leave, "I'll see you when I get back." then he was out of the bedroom and out of the apartment, leaving Ritsu alone on the bed.

Ritu turned her gaze to the ceiling and sighed, feeling content to stay in bed and rest before she can join Ichiru and her coworkers at the karaoke/sushi bar. She snuggled into her pillow, trying to find comfort in the soft fabric as she tried to go back to sleep.

Just as she was about to nod off, her cell phone on the nightstand rang. Without looking at the caller ID, she answered her phone, "Hello?"

"Ritsu sweetheart, are your fingers broken, you can't give me a call?" an all too familiar voice filled Ritsu's ear, making her groan and run a hand down her face, "I wish." she said, not giving a fuck that the woman on the other end could hear her.

"Don't you sass me young lady, I've been expecting a call from you all week. The least you could do is visit and apologize for letting your fiancee break off the engagement." Her Mother scolded on the other end, obviously unhappy with her daughter's rebellious attitude.

Ritsu's eye twitched in annoyance at the mention of the engagement that she never wanted in the first place, "Momiji and I are nothing more than childhood friends. I told you that time and time again that I'm not interested in marrying him or anyone for that matter. Don't expect me to apologize for something that was clearly NOT my fault." she said, not in the mood to deal with this shit.

Her mother didn't take that too well, "Don't take that tone with me, I'm still furious. Kaoru came from a good and respectful family, and they are heartbroken at the fact that you will not be their new daughter." There she goes trying to guilt trip her.

"Nice try mother, but guilt tripping me into apologizing isn't going to work. Neither is it gonna make me visit you." Ritsu said, ready to just hang up on her mother.

"Now you listen here young lady-"

"Sorry mother, got another call on the line." Ritsu said quickly before hanging up, not giving the woman another chance to bad mouth her again. Closing her phone, she set it on the nightstand before getting comfortable for more sleep.

Her phone rang again, making her snatch her phone from the nightstand before answering it with looking at the caller ID again, "Listen here you old hag, if you think I'm gonna visit you-" she started, snarling angrily into her phone.

"Old hag? What did I do, I mean what the hell's going on?" a younger more pleasant voice asked in confusion at Ritsu's angry tone.

Ritsu went red in the face when she recognized that voice, "Ichiru?"

"No, it's the Wizard of Oz; of course it's me." Ichiru said sarcastically, feeling hurt at Ritsu's insult.

Ritsu facepalmed, feeling extremely foolish at her choice of words, "Oh god, I'm so sorry, I just got off the phone the Wicked Witch of the East. Very unpleasant woman, blame her." she said, explaining her actions to her doctor friend.

"Why not the west?" Ichiru asked on the other line, already forgiving her pregnant friend.

"We're in the eastern hemisphere." Ritsu answered, still not happy with her mother calling.

Ichiru chuckled on the other end, "Very clever, you're picking up my habits. What's the name of this witch?" she asked curiously, wanting to know who pissed her friend off.

"She who must not be named; my mother." Ritsu said, feeling satisfied bashing her mother after what that woman said to her not too long ago.

"That terrible, huh?" Ichiru guessed, already imagining such a woman. "Lemme guess, you don't plan on telling _her_ about the pregnancy, do you?"

"Hell no!" she yelled into the phone, knowing clear well on how her mother truly is and how she would react.

"Okay, glad I got that information out of the way." Ichiru said before remembering the reason why she called Ritsu, "By the way Ritsu, are you feeling any better?"

Ritsu answered, "I'm feeling fine, better than ever. I'm still going to this night out, remember?" she said, confident that she will be there at their night out.

"Fantastic. I already booked us reservations, everyone is going. Another thing, you should invite your baby daddy to this little outing." Ichiru suggested, making Ritsu blush a little at the aspect of bringing the father of her baby along.

"I-I don't know Ichiru, he was just called in to work and I don't think it's a good idea to pressure him into coming along." Ritsu said, not really sure if she should invite him.

"It would be a good gesture. Just send him an invite via text and see if he's up for it. 'Sides, it's about time you two went on a real date." Ritsu could hear the smile in Ichiru's voice as she blushed at the notion.

"Yeah, okay, I'll send him a text right now. I'll see you tonight." Ritsu said before ending the call and sending Masamune a text message before going back to sleep.

 **Ritsu: Ichiru has made reservations at the karaoke/sushi bar for me and our friends. You can come along if you're interested.**

* * *

Masamune stared at the text with wide eyes, feeling unbelievably happy that she basically invited him to her little outing, the same one where she danced exotically. No way was he gonna pass up the opportunity to hold her close in a public place and move to the beat of the music with her.

But there was just one problem that he had to take care of. Dialing the number on his phone, he raised it to his ear until he heard a feminine voice, "Hello?"

"Hi, it's me, listen, I need to talk to you about something." Masamune said as he got out of his car.

* * *

 _Hours later_

After Ritsu's much needed nap, she decided to take a shower in order to feel refreshed and clean herself from last night's activities.

Coming out of the bathroom in a bathrobe as she towel dried her hair, she heard her cell phone beep. Taking a seat on the bed, she flipped it open to see a text message sent by Masamune.

 **Masamune: I can't make it tonight. There are other things work needs me for. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you, I promise.**

Ritsu felt a little disappointed, she was really hoping that he would come along and hang out with their Emerald friends. She went red at the thought as she closed her phone, "What the hell am I thinking, I've been spending too much time with my ex than is healthy." she said to herself before checking the time on her phone to see that she still has two more hours before she has to be there.

She touched her stomach, feeling a little bit hungry now that she thought of it, so she might as well kill some time. Making her way to the kitchen, still in her robe, too lazy to get dressed, she opened the fridge and saw a container with a note on it. Picking it up, she set it on the counter and read the note:

 **Ritsu, I saved the curry for you before you went to sleep last night. Just heat it up in the microwave for one minute before eating.**

 **Love,**

 **Masamune**

Ritsu blushed and smiled at the note, his thoughtfulness and concern making her heart flutter along with her baby as she followed the note's instruction.

Sitting on the sofa, watching tv as she ate her curry, she let her mind wander to Masamune. He is already incorporated into her life that it has left her feeling...confused? Is that what she should be feeling right now?

She sighed, setting down her half eaten curry down on the coffee table as she leaned back, staring up at the ceiling, contemplating her future that has just been turned upside down. ' _How did it get like this?'_ she thought to herself, her hand on her belly, as though to seek consultation from her child.

Ever since that morning when she compromised with him on their living arrangement and her transfer to literature, Masamune moved most of her stuff from next door into his apartment. When he saw the onsies, he couldn't help teasing her...which earned him strangulation on the couch. Thankfully he was able to say 'uncle' before he could pass out. Since then, he hasn't teased her about the baby stuff...or the onsies for that matter. Guess her violent outbursts have left quite an impression on him.

Most of their conversations centered around work; when she will go into Literature, who she would be working with, whose books she might be editing and what how their schedules might line up. Everytime he would mention the possibility of traveling to where she should meet her authors, Masamune would say that he would drive her if that should ever happen. That, in turn leads to a fifteen second spat that ends with a deep kiss and strong hug from behind, no questions asked.

Ritsu blushed as she thought of those moments where Masamune would just hold her, no excuse given, just enjoying the warmth of her body he says. She would never admit it, but she likes how he holds her close; just the intimacy that comes with being held in protection and security gives her peace of mind knowing that someone watches over her.

Ritsu sighed, "Nothing I can do about it anymore. He's a part of my baby's life now, so I just have to deal with it." ' _Along with my feelings.'_ she added in her head as she drew her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees.

The knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts, making her stand up to her feet as she went to answer the door. Opening it, she saw Ichiru smiling as she held up a long bag in each hand, "Yo." she greeted, making Ritsu giggle as she stepped aside for her friend to come in.

Eyeing the bags with curiosity she asked, "Are those for the club?"

Ichiru turned to her and smiled, "Yep." as she laid the bags on the couch, "I made sure that yours doesn't show that much cleavage. Speaking of which, how're your boobs?" she asked, Ritsu blushing slightly as she crossed her arms over her robe covered breasts.

"Still uncomfortable; just wearing a bra has become a pain. Although a certain someone doesn't have any complaints." she muttered, remembering how Masamune suggested that he'd massage her breasts if they felt sore.

Ichiru grinned, "Not the first time I've heard of it, men see this pregnancy symptom as a bonus in the bedroom." she said, making Ritsu blush a little knowing how true it was.

Ichiru then remembered, "That reminds me, is he coming with you tonight?" she asked as she unzipped her dress bag and pulled out an orange and white floral patterned dress.

Ritsu looked down with a disheartened expression, "He can't tonight, he still has work to do." she answered, remembering his text.

Ichiru caught the disappointed tone within Ritsu's voice, "Shit. Sorry about that, this would've been your chance to have fun together with him outside of work and this apartment." she said, feeling like it was her fault.

Ritsu shook her head as she sat on the couch, "Don't be, this line of work is a hassle, and it would only cause problems if I demanded his company for one little night out." she gripped the skirt of her robe, "Besides, it's not like I expected him to just drop everything and join me, I mean, we spent the last four days inside this apartment together. I wasn't setting my expectations or anything, like you said, it was just a gesture, nothing more." she said, denying her pain at Masamune not attending their get together with their Emerald friends.

An arm around her shoulders made her look up to see Ichiru sitting beside her with a small frown on her face, "Ritsu, didn't you think that maybe he wanted to spend time with you just as much and wanted to do something special with you." she said firmly, looking directly into Ritsu's eyes.

Ritsu started, "Yeah, but-"

Ichiru stopped her, "No 'buts,' if he is unable to spend one special night with you, at least try and have fun tonight and tell him all about it when you get home." she said, standing up, bringing Ritsu with her and handing the dress bag to Ritsu and pointing her to the bedroom, instructing her to change.

Ritsu nodded as she went to the bedroom to go change, mulling over Ichiru's words. Stepping inside Masamune's bedroom, or in her case, _their_ bedroom, she laid the bag onto the bed before unzipping it. Her eyes widened at the sight of the dress; it looked like a kimono, but it the sleeves were cut at the shoulders and the skirt looked like it ends just above the knees. It was a forest green color with yellow lining the collar, sleeves and sash with a yellow dragon printed onto the skirt.

Holding the dress to her person, she looked at herself in the mirror, imagining how it would look on her. Setting the dress back on the bed, she went to the dresser and pulled out green matching bra and panty. Quickly stripping off her robe, she pulled her undergarments on before putting on the dress. Smoothing out the curves of her dress, she checked herself in the mirror again, turning this way and that, she saw that it fit perfectly. The sash just below her breasts made her seem more comely, and their was a slight cleavage, but not much unless you were taller than her.

If Masamune were around at that moment, he probably would've torn that dress apart and ravish her before she could make it out the door. She went red in the face at such a thought, ' _Damnit, I've been spending way too much time with Takano. This not healthy; NOT HEALTHY!'_ she inwardly yelled as she shook her head to banish the thought.

The knock on her bedroom door interrupted her inner scolding, "Ri-chan, are you dressed yet, I got the shoes that go with the outfit." Ichiru asked from behind the door.

"Um, yeah, I'm dressed, you can come in." Ritsu said, smoothing out her dress again as Ichiru came in, already dressed and in matching heels, holding a pair of one inch heels that go with Ritsu's dress.

Ichiru smirked as she looked at Ritsu, "Yep, I'm a genius, it even brings out your eyes." she said, nodding in approval as she held out the heels to Ritsu.

Ritsu smiled shyly, blushing as she took the heels from Ichiru, "Thank you." she said, sitting on the bed to put on her shoes as Ichiru added, "It's totally Takano's loss not seeing you in that dress tonight. He'd jump on at first sight." she said, checking herself in the mirror.

"Like he hasn't done that before." Ritsu said, blushing at Ichiru's statement as she stood up in her heels, breaking them in and getting used to them.

"Hold on, let me do your hair." Ichiru said, pulling a chair from out of nowhere and placing it in front of the bed and directing Ritsu to sit in it before she sat on the bed behind her. After ten minutes, Ichiru said, "All done, check it out."

Ritsu stood up and walked in front of the mirror and gasped when she saw what Ichiru did to her hair; it was done half up with two braids starting from her temples and meeting at the back of her head to join together in a thicker braid that hung down the rest of her hair.

She lightly touched the end of her braid with a small smile before turning to Ichiru who stood next to her with an impressive grin, "Whaddya think?"

"It's beautiful Ichiru, I love it. Is there anything you can't do?" Ritsu said, admiring the work she did on her hair.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Now come on, let's get your coat and purse and let's shove off." Ichiru said enthusiastically as she made her way to the living room to get her own coat and purse while Ritsu retrieved hers before they made their way to Ichiru's car and drove off.

Arriving at the Karaoke/Sushi bar, they saw Kisa with Yukina and Chiaki with Hatori in their respective partners company, standing by the entrance. Parking the car, the two girls stepped out of the vehicle and made their way towards the group.

"Hey guys; anyone missing?" Ichiru asked, everyone shook their heads, "No? Good, let's party." she said, leading them inside where their booth was reserved.

Throughout the night, the Emerald friends talked and laughed as they ate sushi and listened to karaoke songs. Even Yukina went up there and sang **Leavin' by Jesse McCartney** to Kisa who blushed throughout the song when the handsome young man stared at her as he sang. After everyone applauded his performance, Yukina jumped off the stage and took long strides to the blushing Kisa and kissed her in full view of the club, earn whistles and cheers.

Ritsu continued to laugh at Kisa's blushing face as Yukina took his seat with his arms around said woman. This is the first time she has seen Kisa not so stressed out; more happier and alive. Guess that's what being in love is like for these two, always smiling without a care and just being content with each other.

Ritsu continued to eat her sushi as she turned her attention to Hatori and Chiaki where the latter was chattering non-stop with Ichiru who sat at the young woman's left. The two girls were talking about Chiaki's next book and brainstormed ideas based on Ichiru's misadventures that kept making the author and everyone laugh uncontrollably. Ritsu caught Hatori sneaking glances at Chiaki whenever she laughed, causing him to smile gently at her as he snaked an arm around her subtly and giving her a squeeze.

Ritsu couldn't help but feel like the odd one out. As happy as she was getting out of the house, she felt out of place because she was the only one aside from Ichiru who didn't come here with her man. She went red at the thought, ' _Did I actually consider Takano-san my man?'_ she thought to herself, blushing at such a notion, ' _He and I haven't even made it official, he's just my baby's daddy.'_

"Ri-chan, are you okay, you seem to be miles away." Kisa asked from across the table catching Ritsu's far away look.

Ritsu looked up, shaking her head, "I'm okay, nothing's wrong. I just let my mind slip away from me a little." she laughed sheepishly.

"Takano-san isn't here with you, that's why you're down." Hatori stated bluntly, making Ritsu blush and glare in his direction, "Who asked you?" she said with a tic-mark on her head.

Kisa perked up at that statement, "That's right, you've been staying with the boss. How have things been between you two?" she asked, wanting to know the details of their absent colleagues.

Ritsu blushed, looking down in embarrassment as she tried to explain, "Things have been very civil between us. We talked it over and finally got passed the whole secret keeping." she blushed even more when she thought about that night, ' _Damn you Takano.'_ she cursed in her head.

Kisa looked disappointed, "That's it; that's all?" she slumped with a groan, "Awwww. I was hoping for some dramatic details. It was the only thing that made things entertaining at work." she said as Yukina patted her back.

Ritsu narrowed her eyes at the older woman, "You want dramatic? Well here's my four days with Takano-san; get up, get dressed, have breakfast, talk about work, let him talking to my bellybutton, have sex, watch tv, help him with work, argue about my plans for when I transfer to Literature, have sex again, have lunch, take a bath, have sex in the bathroom, go to bed, have sex _again_ and sleep. Basic routine, drives anyone nuts." Ritsu finished, everyone's eyes widening to the size of dinner plates at the amount of sex Ritsu and Masamune are having.

Ichiru stared at her friend incredulously, "Son of a bitch, are you kidding me? This guy's crazy, he jumps you every chance he gets." she said exasperatedly with the others nodding in agreement, not quite believing that this is the same demonic boss that runs Emerald.

"What, is he training for the fuck-lympics, he doesn't seem to get tired with that job of his." Ichiru couldn't help adding as Ritsu continued to blush.

The others either snickered or smiled at Ichiru's comment before Hatori realized something, "Wait, hold on, what do you mean 'argue about your plans for when you transfer to Literature'? You're leaving the Emerald Department?" he asked, wondering when this started happening.

Ritsu laughed nervously as she tried to explain, "Okay, long story there. Originally I wanted to transfer departments in order to hide my pregnancy from Takano-san. Since he knows about my pregnancy and is going to be a part of the baby's life, we compromised and he agreed to let me transfer on a the condition that I live with him." she finished, Hatori nodding in understanding.

Chiaki was curious though, "You two still argue?" she asked, taking a bite out of her sushi.

Ritsu nodded, "Yes, but it's usually what I'll be doing while I'm in Literature. When it comes to me going over to an author's house, we go into this argument about me going alone and him driving me." she paused to take a breath, "He's too paranoid. Does he really think an author's gonna jump me if I meet him alone?"

Ichiru decided to pitch an answer to that, "Well that's pregnancy for you, comes with the territory. Just ask Hatori here, bet he doesn't want Chiaki out of his sight whenever he has to go to work." she said, pointing at the mentioned couple.

Hatori nodded, "It's true." he said, tightening his arms around Chiaki who glared at her boyfriend, "You are absolutely hopeless. Just because you got me pregnant, doesn't mean I'm gonna be in danger all the time." she said, obviously still mad at him for what he did to her other best friend. It was a total misunderstanding for crying out loud.

Hatori remained unfazed by her glare, "No, but you are going to be a bigger, slower target." he said, making her blush and glare harder.

"Excuse me, men don't go for pregnant women, it's a turnoff for them when they see a swollen belly. I'm gonna look _and_ feel unattractive the moment I get fat." Chiaki said, arguing against his statement.

Hatori however, merely smirked as he sneaked his other hand to her front, rubbing her belly, "Well I won't be turned off, I smile every time I think about it." he said before kissing her louding on her neck, making her blush in embarrassment as she squirmed to get out of his hold, not wanting to make a spectacle.

"You jerk, stop it, we're in a public." she said, squirming and giggling when he touched a ticklish part of her neck.

Hatori smirked, "Well that was your punishment." he stated calmly as he stopped to just hold her to himself.

Chiaki turned beat red in the cheeks as she glared at him, "For what?"

"For thinking you won't be vulnerable and for saying that you won't be attractive when you start showing." Hatori explained as though it was the most common thing in the world.

"Huh?" Chiaki said, still blushing in embarrassment while everyone stared at them, enjoying the show apparently.

"You know Chiaki-san, this scene _should_ be in your next book. If I found this entertaining, then it's obvious your readers will enjoy it." Ichiru said unhelpfully as she grinned at their display and banter with everyone else either nodding and/or blushing in agreement.

"You're not helping!" Chiaki said, giving up in trying to get out of Hatori's hold as she glared at the doctor.

Ichiru shrugged, "Just trying to be of some assistance just in case you reach writer's block." she said, laughing as Chiaki glared at her harder while Hatori stated, "That might not be a bad idea, this scene would truly sell with your book." this made Chiaki turn her glare back to her editor, "Tori." she growled at him, feeling betrayed.

Ritsu watched the scene in front of her, already sympathising with the woman who seemed to have the exact same problems as her when it comes to their baby-daddies. "You might well get used to it Chiaki-san, we're both gonna be dealing with this overprotective shit." Ritsu said, providing Chiaki with moral support as the poor woman nodded, "Yeah, no kidding."

"Um, well actually..." Kisa spoke, making everyone turn to her as she scratched back of her with Yukina smiling at her in encouragement, "You want to tell them or should I?" he asked, squeezing her tightly.

"Tell us what exactly?" Ritsu asked, not understanding what they were talking about.

Kisa answered by digging through her purse, "Doctor Kurosaki, by your professional opinion," she pulled out a white plastic stick, "is this accurate enough?" she asked giving the object to Ichiru who held it up in the light.

Going into doctor mode, she said, "Most of these things are fairly accurate. How often have you been throwing up and how are your cravings." she asked, looking at the couple.

"Every fucking morning, noon and night." Kisa grumbled as Yukina rubbed her arm in comfort, "As for the cravings, I suddenly found coffee disgusting. I want to sleep until I'm dead and my boobs hurt to hell and back." she complained, heat rising to her cheeks.

Ichiru smiled, "Then congratulations, you're pregnant as well." she said, handing back the pregnancy stick while Ritsu and Chiaki widened their eyes, "What?!" they said at the same time as Kisa laughed nervously, "This came as a surprise to us, it snuck up on us."

"Don't you mean, 'I' snuck up on you?" Yukina said cheekily, making Kisa blush and smack his arm lightly as he laughed.

"When did this happen, I was out of commision for four day. In fact, when did you pee on that thing? Did you even wash it after using it?" Ritsu asked, finding it unbelievable seeing how a third person in their group has gotten pregnant as well.

Kisa smiled, "We found out the day before yesterday. I started feeling sick lately and I bought myself a pregnancy test just to be sure."

Yukina decided to add, "Actually, she wanted to test this out in secret. Thankfully I came home early and I found her in the bathroom taking this out of it's box." he said, making Kisa blush at the memory, "I thought we agreed never to talk about it."

"Talk about what, what happened?" Chiaki said, leaning towards the couple.

Kisa sighed before explaining, "I didn't want to get his hopes up, so I decided to do it myself." she went beet red as she recalled what happened, "It was so embarrassing when he insisted on helping me."

"Ewwww." Everyone responded, "Don't tell me this guy..." Ichiru said pointing at the smiling Yukina who nodded, "What? I wanted to make sure it was aimed in the right place." he said oh-so-innocently.

"Oh, god, I didn't ask you to help me, I could've done it myself!" Kisa said, completely red in embarrassment as she glared at her boyfriend who continued smiling, "Is it wrong to help his girlfriend when needed. Plus, consider this payback for trying to pee on a stick behind my back." he said, feeling proud of himself even as Kisa looked like she wanted to strangle him.

Ritsu and Chiaki stared at the couple incredulously before turning to each other, "At least she's not alone in the pregnancy department." Ritsu stated with Chiaki nodding in agreement as Kisa pulled her boyfriend's cheeks in retaliation for her humiliation.

Ichiru decided to change the subject, "Well, obviously all of you are pregnant, which means something's going around."

"Yeah, hormones and desperation." Ritsu commented, Chiaki fist bumping her in agreement while Kisa nodded.

Ichiru continued, "Looks like I got more work for me considering you all could give birth around the same due date." she said with concern as she looked at all three women.

Kisa laughed indignantly, "But that's impossible. These two are obviously going to give birth first," she said gesturing to Hatori and Chiaki before turning to Ritsu, "next it's going to be Ri-chan, _then_ me. I'm the last to get knocked up." she said as she pointed to herself.

"Maybe, but remember, some pregnancies are unpredictable, especially when it comes to their due date. You can either be three weeks early, or two weeks late." Ichiru explained, going back into doctor mode as she stared at all of her patients.

"Just like our authors." Ritsu stated quietly, but the others heard her and laughed lightly at the comparison.

Ichiru decided to move onto the bright side to this, "But seriously, you're all gonna be parents together. In fact, your babies are gonna grow up with each other. So this is a good thing, you're already hanging out, and that means you are morally supporting one another in this journey to parenthood." she finished, making everyone's face brighten at the notion as they nodded in agreement.

Yukina picked up his glass of smoothie, "Then I propose a toast; to our lovely ladies and to our children, may we wish each other luck and hope that we don't mess up in parenthood." this earned him laughs as everyone in the booth raised their glass as he added, "And may our children be proud of us and may we love them with all our hearts."

"Amen to that." Hatori stated as everyone clinked glasses with each other.

They all sat back down as a waiter came over and set a slice of cake in front of Ritsu. She looked up in confusion, "Um, I didn't order this." she said, feeling a sense of deja vu.

The waiter smiled, "I know, it was that gentleman-hey, where'd he go?" he asked, looking in the direction said gentleman wasn't where he last saw him before he turned to the karaoke stage, "Ah, there he is, enjoy the cake." he said before leaving to serve other customers.

Kisa eyed the man walking towards the microphone and said, "Wait, is that Takano-san?"

* * *

 _ **What weren't you expecting? Which part did you laugh at? How many of you loved this chapter?**_

 _ **Don't worry, this isn't ending in the long run. At least not yet.**_

 _ **Let me know what you thought of this chapter.**_

 _ **P.S. Momiji is An's brother.**_


	13. Chapter 13

**_Songs for this chapter: After the Rain by August and Stick With You by Pussycat Dolls_**

 ** _Listen to those songs, hope you like 'em._**

* * *

 _Hours earlier_

Ichiru couldn't help snickering at the scowling man in front of her, "W-What do you mean you can't dance?" she asked, earning a sigh from Masamune as he sat in Ichiru's living room.

"What I mean is, I lack the grace and ability to be romantic on the dance floor." Masamune explained, making Ichiru laugh at the look on Masamune's face until her sides hurt.

Tears came at the corner of her eyes, "Oh my god, of all things you had to come to me for, and it had to be because of your two left feet." she chortled, finding his whole predicament hilarious as he continued to scowl at her.

"Well I didn't go to my high school prom, okay? I just really need your help right now." Masamune said, trying to maintain his patience with this woman that Ritsu compared him to earlier this week.

Ichiru calmed down some, with a a few chuckles here and there, "Why exactly?"

Masamune answered, "Ritsu invited me along to your little get together at that Karaoke Sushi Club. See, I wanna do something special for her. A few weeks ago, when she talked about her stay in England, she said she never went to her prom because she didn't have any interest in romance and fun at the time. I know this won't be prom, but I want this to be our first real dance. Maybe even see this as an actual date for once." Masamune explained, starting to look desperate, "Please, can you help me do this for her?"

Ichiru stared at her best friend's baby daddy, finding it hard to believe that this is the same demonic boss that runs Emerald. With a sigh she said, "Okay, I'll help you, but only because you asked me to and because you look too pathetic to do this yourself." she said getting up and walking over to her stereo, picking out some sensual and upbeat music.

"Thank you, that really warms my heart." Masamune said sarcastically as the music filled the room.

"Now, front and center, let's go." Ichiru said as she turned around to face Masamune who stood in the open space, waiting for her instruction.

Ichiru began as she started to dance to the beat of the music, "Now, when you dance, you're letting the music guide you. Allow the mood, the beat and voice guide you on the dance floor. Just like having sex, you're releasing your inhibitions to please yourself." she froze for a second to rethink that, "Wait, scratch that, keep your clothes on your body and your boner covered at all times. Most of all don't touch yourself." she said, going back to dancing as Masamune stiffly followed her moves.

Masamune tried to follow her example, but had a hard time feeling the mood as he missed a couple of steps. Ichiru caught Masamune's dance and frowned, "You're supposed let out the fire inside you, not have a heart attack." she scolded, not faltering in her moves.

"I'm trying." Masamune said, trying to get the moves right, but failing.

Ichiru stopped the music, "Obviously this is your achilles heel, seeing how you are hardly using any heel with those moves." she said, not impressed with Masamune's performance.

"I can't help it, I'm too tense. The minute she sees me looking like a complete fool, she's gonna hold this against me." Masamune said, feeling embarrassed thinking about what Ritsu will think of him if he stepped on her feet.

Ichiru shook her head at him, "Hopeless." then an idea struck her, snapping her fingers, catching his attention, she smiled, "Stay right there, I might have something." she said, leaving him alone in the living room for a second before coming back with something in her hand.

"Here, take this." Ichiru presented Masamune with a small pill.

"What does it do?" Masamune asked, being weary of Ichiru as he took the pill from her hand.

Ichiru answered, "It's just something people take at clubs. It melts your inhibitions, and hey, you can dance all night." she said it as though she was doing a sales pitch.

"And you take this?" Masamune asked, not really trusting this woman, considering she's a doctor.

"I used to, but I keep these around just in case. The side effects are harmless, you might not remember a couple of things when it wears off. Plus, it gives you a raging-" Ichiru said grinning until Masamune cut her off, "I don't want it." he growled out quickly through gritting teeth that she almost didn't catch what he said.

Masamune held the pill out for Ichiru, "I don't like this." he said, wanting to return the drug.

"Look, just keep it with you just in case." Ichiru said before looking at the clock, "I have to go to work." she said grabbing her bag from off the couch.

"Now, if you want to make this special for her, try singing. Hopefully you have a good voice that won't completely get you booed off the stage." Ichiru said, giving him a suggestion as she escorted Masamune to the door.

"Singing?" Masamune asked incredulously as they exited her apartment.

Ichiru nodded, locking her door, "Yep, singing, if you're confident enough to yell at authors, this should be second nature to you in order to impress your mate. But in all honesty, you should surprise her." she added as they walked down the stairs of the second floor.

"Pardon?" Masamune asked in confusion, not really understanding her.

Ichiru decided to elaborate for him, "Step 1: send her a message telling her you can't make it tonight; Step 2: wait for her to arrive at the club, make sure she doesn't see you; Step 3: send the cake over to her before sneaking onto the stage; Step 4: surprise her by serenading her with a heartfelt song." she explained her plan before adding, "If you're feeling up for step 5, finish the night with a slow dance if you have enough balls to do it."

"I can't dance." he said, liking the plan as they made it to the parking lot.

"Why do you think I gave you that pill?" she said rhetorically as they approached their separate cars.

Masamune nodded, "Fair enough. See you later." he said as they got into their cars and pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

 _Present_

Masamune watched at a safe distance as Ritsu laughed with their friends, waiting for his turn to sing as the waiter approached her table with the cake he sent over. Making a quick get away as the song ended, he stepped onto the stage and stood in front of the microphone. His eyes connected with Ritsu's surprised orbs, making him smile as the song he picked out began to play.

 **Hearts been broken, Struggling just to find a brand new start**

 **The darkness is closing in, making everyone of my decisions hard**

 **You've been calling, telling me you'd always be there**

 **But it just wouldn't have been fair, to you**

 **And they said that after the storm it'd be bright**

 **That the clouds would give way to the sun**

 **And I know you've been waiting for me to come around**

 **I just needed some time to figure it all out**

He allowed the song to flow out of his mouth, having listened to this so many times. This song reminded him of how he used to be back in highschool, when he felt lonely and hopeless before that day in the library.

 **I was lost, there was no way that I could be what you want**

 **And no way that I could give you my all**

 **My heart wasn't proper, but that didn't stop ya from waiting**

 **Til after, after, after the rain**

He sang the chorus from the heart, letting Ritsu know his feelings as he kept his eyes on her, taking note of her blush as she listened to his song.

 **I had to re-pair, leave behind the pieces and re-build again**

 **Ohh, and yeah I saw you there but there's no way that I could just pretend**

 **That I was alright and okay**

 **I wasn't all good and I had to delay**

 **I needed the water to wash that away**

These lyrics reminded him of how he was in his college days when he went through a break down. But the rest of this verse reminded him of what he felt when he reunited with Ritsu after ten years.

 **And they said that after the storm it'd be bright**

 **That the clouds would give way to the sun**

 **And I know you've been waiting for me to come around**

 **I just needed some time to figure it out**

 **I was lost, there was no way that I could be what you want**

 **And no way that I could give you my all**

 **My heart wasn't proper, but that didn't stop ya from waiting**

 **Til after, after, after the rain**

 **Let it wash away all my mistakes**

 **Cause I got so many changes to make**

 **See from hating to loving I got to make the adjustment**

 **From the darkness into the rising sun yeah**

Throughout the final verse, he saw Ritsu rubbing at her eyes that shined with tears at the emotion he put into the song. This song literally fit Masamune to the letter when he transformed from the moody teenager to the love sick sap that is now singing for his girl.

 **I'm so sorry to keep you waiting**

 **Almost drowned cause it wouldn't stop raining**

 **Now that all that is gone, I'm ready to carry on**

When his voice reached that note, everyone cheered, even Ritsu who clapped and smiled at him as he went for the finish, singing his heart out in the final chorus.

 **I was lost, there was no way that I could be what you want**

 **And no way that I could give you my all**

 **My heart wasn't proper, but that didn't stop ya from waiting**

 **Til after, after, after the rain**

The song ended, earning him an applause from the customers and dancers as he nodded his thanks before stepping off the stage and walking towards Ritsu's table. Approaching Ritsu, he saw her blushing fifteen shades of red as she shyly met his eyes. Bending at the waist, he kissed her fully on the lips, making everyone at the table cheer and go 'ooooohhhh.'

Pulling away, Ritsu scooted away to make room for him, still blushing as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "What are you doing here, you said you were working tonight." Ritsu said, confused at his sudden appearance and still flustered by the song he sang to her.

Masamune smiled, pulling her closer to him, "I lied. Wanted to give you a surprise." he said, kissing her on the cheek, making her blush again.

"Haha! Glad you could make it Takano. Best part, you didn't get booed off the stage." Ichiru said grinning as everyone laughed a little.

Ritsu smiled as she shook her head at Ichiru before turning back to Masamune, "I didn't know you could sing." she said, still reeling from the surprise.

"Did you like it?" Masamune asked, smiling down at Ritsu who practically glowed with happiness.

"It was beautiful, I love it." Ritsu said, not being able to hide how impressed she was, making Masamune smile even more before he swooped down for another kiss, surprising her once again.

"Yeesh, save some for the hotel room, it's burning my eyes." Ichiru said teasingly, making Ritsu blush even more, knowing what she meant.

Ichiru's name was called up on the stage, "Oh, my turn. 'Scuse me, sorry." she said excitedly as Masamune and Ritsu got out of the booth to let her out as she practically flew towards the stage in heels. Stepping onto the stage, she got a couple of cat calls and wolf whistles from some random patron.

Standing in front of the microphone, she announced, "This one is for the couples here tonight. I hope you enjoy." everyone clapped as the song began to play.

 **I don't wanna go another day,**

 **So I'm telling you exactly what is on my mind.**

 **Seems like everybody's breaking up**

 **Throwing their love away,**

 **But I know I got a good thing right here**

 **That's why I say (Hey)**

Everyone in the booth nodded to the music, loving the sound of Ichiru's voice as they watched couples beginning to slow dance on the dance floor.

Masamune turned to Ritsu and stood up, catching her attention as he held his hand out, "Care to dance?" he asked, making her blush and look at everyone else shyly as they nodded in encouragement. Giving into peer pressure, she took Masamune's hand, letting him pull her up on her feet in the process as he led her to the dance floor.

"Just so we're clear, if you step on my feet, I'm jamming these heels into your toes." Ritsu threatened quietly as Masamune pulled her close and started to slow dance to the flow of the song.

"Don't worry I won't...hopefully." Masamune said quietly, making her laugh lightly as they continued to move to the music.

 _ **[Chorus]**_

 **Nobody gonna love me better**

 **I must stick with you forever.**

 **Nobody gonna take me higher**

 **I must stick with you.**

 **You know how to appreciate me**

 **I must stick with you, my baby.**

 **Nobody ever made me feel this way**

 **I must stick with you.**

At this point, the other two couples got up from their booth and started dancing with their respective partners. Each of them enjoying the intimacy that came with this song and dance.

 **I don't wanna go another day**

 **So I'm telling you exactly what is on my mind.**

 **See the way we ride in our private lives,**

 **Ain't nobody getting in between.**

 **I want you to know that you're the only one for me (one for me)**

 **And I say**

Masamune spun her around until her back was pressed to his front as he kept his arms wrapped around her. Ritsu allowed him to lead her, silently enjoying his warmth as they continued to dance with each other.

 _ **[Chorus]**_

 **Nobody gonna love me better**

 **I must stick with you forever.**

 **Nobody gonna take me higher**

 **I must stick with you.**

 **You know how to appreciate me**

 **I must stick with you, my baby.**

 **Nobody ever made me feel this way**

 **I must stick with you.**

 **And now**

 **Ain't nothing else I can need (nothing else I can need)**

 **And now**

 **I'm singing 'cause you're so, so into me.**

 **I got you,**

 **We'll be making love endlessly.**

 **I'm with you (baby, I'm with you)**

 **Baby, you're with me (Baby, you're with me)**

Masamune lowered his mouth to her ear and lightly kissed it, causing her to gasp quietly before turning her head, only to see Masamune smiling down at her before he kissed her on the lips. Ritsu couldn't help but respond to him, letting herself lean into him as she followed his steps.

 **So don't you worry about**

 **People hanging around,**

 **They ain't bringing us down.**

 **I know you and you know me**

 **And that's all that counts.**

 **So don't you worry about**

 **People hanging around,**

 **They ain't bringing us down.**

 **I know you and you know me**

 **And that's why I say**

Masamune spun her around again to face him, her hands locking behind his head as his hands clasped behind her at the small of her back, holding her flush against him. Ritsu moved her hips to the beat to the music, loving how this song makes her feel at ease and confident in herself.

 _ **[Chorus x2]**_

 **Nobody gonna love me better**

 **I must stick with you forever.**

 **Nobody gonna take me higher**

 **I must stick with you.**

 **You know how to appreciate me**

 **I must stick with you, my baby.**

 **Nobody ever made me feel this way**

 **I must stick with you.**

As the song came to a close, Masamune and Ritsu slowed their movements. Ritsu pulled her head away from his chest to look up at Masamune who stared at her, as though in some kind of trance.

Her hands rested at his shoulders as he caressed her cheeks with his thumb before lowering his lips to hers again, sealing her in his kiss once more. She kissed him back, loving how warm his lips was against hers as her heart raced at the fact that they were doing this in front of other people.

The sound of applauding broke them out of their revier as they separated, turning their heads towards the stage to see Ichiru bowing before stepping off the stage. Ritsu clapped as Ichiru approached, "That was wonderful Ichiru." she said as everyone in their group went back to the booth.

Ichiru shrugged as though it was nothing, "Just a little something to commemorate this night. That was my congratulation present to all of you, because all of you are going to be parents." she said smiling at everyone.

Masamune was confused, "Wait, hold on, everyone here is pregnant?" he asked, staring at the two couples in shock as they either smiled or blushed.

"Yep, we're all having our babies." Kisa confirmed, smiling as Yukina kissed her on the cheek.

Masamune's eyes widened just a fraction, literally everyone in the Emerald Team will be having families of their own. Things really are about to change.

His pause scared the others just a little, "Uh, boss, are you mad?" Kisa asked inquisitively, finding their superior's silence a tad bit disconcerting.

Masamune shook himself out of his shock, "No, I'm just a little surprised. Seriously, this whole team got pregnant at the same time. How did that happen?"

"We fucked." everyone answered simultaneously, making the whole booth burst out laughing, being in good spirits.

Ichiru grinned widely, feeling high off life, "Man, life is good right now; life is good." she said before turning to Masamune who had Ritsu sitting between them, "By the way, how did that pill work out for you?"

Ritsu turned to Masamune in confusion, "What pill?"

Masamune answered, "It was just a little something your doctor friend gave me earlier to help me loosen up and help me dance without inhibition. Best part, it worked and I didn't make a complete fool of myself." he said, Ritsu nodding in agreement, not exactly sure when he got the pill from Ichiru.

"It's good that you believe that," Ichiru began, smiling mischievously, "because that was a placebo."

Silence surrounded the table, all of them staring at Ichiru before Ritsu laughed hysterically, everyone else, minus Masamune, joining in as they laughed at the joke Ichiru pulled on him.

"Oh my god!" Ritsu laughed out, wiping the tear from her eye, trying to catch her breath.

"This is the best night ever." Kisa chortled, leaning on Yukina because she had a hard time sitting upright with all the laughter that came out of her.

Masamune sighed, turning to glare at a chuckling Ichiru, "You were saving this, weren't you?" he asked, feeling slightly pissed at the doctor for tricking him.

Ichiru calmed down, but still laughed a little, "Well, it did help you loosen up like you wanted. So this is a win-win situation: you let go of your inhibitions when it comes to dancing with your girl, and we laugh at the fact that you took a placebo." she said, bursting out laughing again until her sides hurt.

Ritsu turned to Masamune, her laughter dying down some, "What, you did that for me?" she asked, making Masamune look at her with a slightly red face, feeling a little reluctant to tell her.

"Yeah, I-uh, wanted to make this night special for you. Hoping that this would make you happy." his answer made Ritsu blush and look down in embarrassment for having him admit it out loud in front of their friends.

Masamune smirked, knowing that he got her tongue tied as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder before giving her a kiss on the lips again, making her blush even more. He pulled away as the waiter came over with a check, which all the men and Ichiru pitched in their share as they paid for their meal.

Afterwards, they exited the club in pairs, minus Ichiru, as they bid each other goodnight before they all got into their vehicles and drove home.

Ritsu gazed out the car window, feeling absolutely drained as Masamune sat behind the wheel, taking them home. Not taking his eyes off the road, he reached his hand over and clasped hers, making her look down to see her smaller hand engulfed in his larger one as it rested between them on the armrest. Unable to fight the smile that came onto her lips, she squeezed his fingers in return.

Masamune smiled when he felt her hand squeeze his, this whole night really got her to open up to him and have fun. Another step towards her falling completely in love with him, he should say. Just her smiling face was enough to make him feel like he accomplished something tonight.

As they stopped at a stoplight, he felt a weight appear onto his shoulder. Looking down, he saw Ritsu asleep with her head on his shoulder. She looked so cute sleeping like that, completely unaware of the world around her with Masamune watching over her.

Being careful not to wake her, he adjusted himself so that his arm was around her as she leaned into him, making sure that his other hand stayed on the wheel. The light turned green, giving him the okay to continue driving.

Ritsu snuggled into him unconsciously, enjoying the warmth his body exudes while she sleeps. This in turn made him smile, this is how it should always be for them; where they can be Masamune and Ritsu, and not boss and subordinate.

' _If we could come home like this everyday, I guess I can stomach her transfer into Literature.'_ Masamune thought to himself as he parked the car in the apartment garage before kissing her on the forehead. "I love you." he whispered softly to her, silently wishing for the moment where she would say those three delicate words to him as well.

* * *

 _ **Sorry for the delay, been fighting with myself on what songs should be sung in this chapter.**_

 _ **Tell me which song was your favorite and what you thought of this chapter.**_

 _ **5 reviews=a new chapter. XD**_


	14. Chapter 14

Ritsu opened her eyes, stretching her arms out in order to wake up her muscles as she sat up in bed. Looking around, she saw that she was in bed, although she couldn't remember when she went to bed exactly. ' _Probably Takano again.'_ she answered her question as she looked at the clock to see that it was still early, meaning that she still had time to get up and get ready for today.

Getting out of bed, she made her way to the shower to wash away the sleep that wanted to pull her body back down. After a full week of recovery, Ritsu is finally ready to go back to work. She has already filled out the paperwork needed for transfer, so all she needs to do is show up, get a tour and get started in the Literature Department.

Stepping out of the shower and drying herself off, she dressed herself in a simple pants, t-shirt and sweater before stepping out of the bedroom. Traveling to the kitchen, she saw Masamune cooking breakfast again, the smell of food made her stomach growl as she sat at the kitchen counter.

"Good morning." she greeted, enjoying the smell of breakfast that made her feel more awake.

"Morning. Sleep well?" Masamune asked, setting breakfast down in front of her before he took his seat across the counter.

Ritsu nodded, "Yeah, probably one of the best ones yet." she said, taking a bite out of her sausage before the phone in her pocket started ringing. Putting down the chopsticks, she pulled out her phone and flipped it open, a sour frown coming onto her face, "I take it back, it has turned into a nightmare." she said before answering it.

"Ritsu! I've been calling you all day yesterday, you and I are not finished talking!" that agonizingly familiar voice cut into the kitchen, making Ritsu and Masamune cringe at the sound.

Acting on impulse, she put on a fake english accent, "I'm sorry dear, you have the wrong number." she said before hanging up and putting the phone down on the counter with a sigh, "That is not a good way to start the morning." she said in her normal voice as Masamune nodded in agreement.

Her phone rang again, she picked it up and saw it was her Mother calling again. Not wanting her nagging to destroy her appetite, she took out the sim card that was at the back of the phone and laid them side by side on the counter.

Turning to Masamune, "If you love me, you'll agree that I lost my phone." she said firmly before returning to her breakfast.

Masamune only stared at her in surprise, trying not to laugh at how she handled that contact, "I take it things are still...stagnant...between you and your Mother." he said, not knowing what else to say considering all the personal calls Ritsu gets from her Mother usually involve an angry look and screeching from the phone.

"They're getting worse, but it's not like things have gotten better in the first place. Seems all she ever wants to do is pester me each time she calls me." Ritsu said, stabbing her omelette roll before putting it in her mouth.

Swallowing her food, she continued, "Hopefully, you'll never have to meet her...like ever. She's worse in person." she added, terrified at the thought of facing her Mother again.

"What do you think she'll do _if_ I ever meet her?" Masamune asked, swallowing his food as he stared at her.

"Here's my scenario:" she began, going over the future disaster that might come should he ever meet her Mother, "She greets you, all polite and genuine. She'll make small talk with you over dinner, pretend to be your friend. But then you tell her that you're a manga editor. She'll say, 'Oh that's nice.' but inside, she's glaring at me for not choosing someone of the same status as her. Before you realize it, she's making subtle insults to your social standing and career choice. And when that happens, when her insults become too much, I talk back to her in your defence. We start screaming at each other to the point where we duke it out while you and Dad hide in the corner for a few minutes before you two pull us apart. We leave that house, we go home, laugh and cry then we go to sleep. The end." she finished, having gone over that possible fiasco in her head multiple times.

Masamune imagined that happening as she talked, almost losing her when she started to talk fast somewhere around insults. "How long has this been bothering you?" he asked, wondering when she started to worry about the possibility of her Mother finding out about them.

"Yesterday, when she called me after you went out. She even had the audacity to say that I should apologize for letting Momiji break off the engagement." she sighed, finishing her food before going to the sink to wash her plate, "I'm starting to worry that she's gonna set me up with another engagement. Hell, she probably picked one out already and she's just waiting for the right moment to smother me with it." she said bitterly, knowing her Mother all too well to predict her moves.

Arms encircled her from behind suddenly, making her gasp and faulter in her dishes as a warm chest pressed into her back. Turning her head slightly, "Uh, Takano-san?" she implored, confused by his sudden appearance.

He responded by holding her tighter, "I'm not gonna let that happen." he whispered into her ear, making her blush as his breath made contact.

"Eh?" Ritsu said, not understanding him at all.

"No one is allowed to marry you, not while I'm around." he said, promising her and himself that only he can have that role in Ritsu's life.

Ritsu blushed deeply, his declaration sounded so primal, arousing even. ' _Once again, I'm blaming it on the pregnancy.'_ she berated herself, not wanting to admit that his possessive words excited her.

She calmly closed her eyes before opening them, relaxing in his hold, "I know you won't; because you and I both know that none of them can take your place in our baby's life." ' _And mine.'_ she added mentally, refusing to say it out loud as her hand wandered to her belly, feeling the subtle change in her not-yet-showing tummy.

Masamune smiled into her ear as he laid his hand over hers, to let their baby know that he's not going anywhere.

Ritsu smiled slightly before her eyes wandered to the clock. "Uh, Takano-san, we have to go now, our jobs are waiting for us." she said, realizing that it was almost time for them to go.

Masamune sighed as he rested his chin on her shoulder, "They can survive if we were a few minutes late. Maybe an hour?" he asked temptingly, not wanting to go back to work anytime soon.

Ritsu blushed at the implication, and decided to put up a struggle, "Nice try pal, but you are the editor-in-chief, you have work to do. Also, I'd like to make a good impression in the Literature Department by not being late." she said, trying to get out of his hold so that she could grab her bag and cellphone.

Masamune kissed below her earlobe, causing her to squeak upon contact. "Alright fine, I'll let you go. But the moment we come home, I'm taking you, so be prepared." he said, smirking when he felt her shiver at his words before he released her.

Ritsu stepped away from him before dashing to her phone, putting it back together before she grabbed her bag that was on the couch. The same bag she left back at Emerald when she collapsed. Thankfully, he brought it back when he went back to work yesterday.

"You shouldn't say such things as a threat, Takano. You had absolutely no reason to." Ritsu said, pulling her coat on, hiding the fact that she felt excited at the idea of coming home.

Masamune smirked as he put on his coat as well, "It wasn't a threat, it was a promise. 'Sides, it was your fault anyway." he said as they walked together towards the front door, putting their shoes on in the process before opening the door.

Ritsu glared at him, "Hang on, how is this my fault?" she asked as they left the apartment and made their way to the elevator.

Pressing the elevator button, he answered, "You tempted me." Masamune said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ritsu went red at his answer, "No, I didn't." she said as the doors opened and they went inside.

"Yes, you did." Masamune retorted, pressing the button that leads to the garage before the doors closed and they went down.

"No I didn't. How the hell did I even tempt you to begin with?" she asked, not understanding why he blamed her.

They stepped off the elevator as it arrived at the garage, "You said your Mother will set you up for another engagement, and I didn't like that." he said as they made their way to his car.

"I said 'probably' you idiot. No need to get all territorial." Ritsu fired back, getting into the passenger's side of the car while Masamune got into the driver's side, "But it's still a possibility." he said, putting on his glasses so that he could see the road better.

Ritsu put on her safety belt, "Yes, it's a possibility. So it may or may not happen." she grasped the straps of her bag that rested in her lap, "However, this is my Mother, she'll go straight ahead and do it, no questions asked and no consequences considered. Once her mind's made up, there's no stopping her." she said, almost sadly as she remembered the bad times she had with her Mother making all the decisions for her.

A hand grasped hers, bringing her attention to the man beside her, "Well she needs a reality check since she can't control everything." he said, to which she nodded in agreement before he started up the car and they were out of the apartment garage.

"By the way, when do you plan on telling your parents about the baby?" Masamune asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

"When our kid is in college and when my Mom's dead. Plus three days, just to make sure she's dead." she answered without hesitation, hoping that she could last that long before adding, "I just hope she won't haunt me afterwards."

Masamune glanced at her with a questioning look, "You really think you can keep this from your parents for that long?" he asked, not believing that she could keep this a secret from her parents.

"It's just wishful thinking. I don't talk to my parents about many things, and that includes personal relationships. So that makes it easier for me to hide this from them." she said, not feeling sad about not contacting her parents more often.

"What about your Dad, how do you think he'll react?" Masamune asked, seeing how she has never seen her talk to her Father on the phone.

"He's a much more reasonable man compared to my Mother. Worst case scenario, he'll just be disappointed and plot your murder." she said this nonchalantly, not exactly sure how her Father would react, but hopefully he'll be more understanding than his wife.

"'Reasonable?' You just said that he'll kill me afterwards." Masamune said, feeling slightly disturbed by Ritsu's answer.

"Don't worry, he'll kill you in a humane way. I'm not sure how, but I'm pretty confident that it will be painless." she said it as though she was talking about the weather.

"Remind me, what kind of bonding time do you usually share with your Father." Masamune asked, already imagining what her Father is like.

Ritsu shrugged, "From what I can remember, I used to dance on his feet at parties or when the occasion calls for it." she said, vaguely remembering those precious moments that kept her going in that lonely mansion.

Masamune saw the vacant expression in her eyes, "Are you still on good terms with your Father?" he asked, hoping that she had at least one parent who took some time to give her love and affection where he did not.

Ritsu smiled softly as she nodded, "Yeah, he and I are still good, for now at least." she added, placing her hand on her belly, worried about the day where she would have to tell her Father.

They pulled into the Marukawa parking lot where Masamune put the brakes on when he found a spot. Turning to her, he grasped her hand again and leaned in for a kiss. She stood still, not understanding his actions.

Once he pulled away, she gave him a questioning look, "What was that for?"

Masamune smirked, "That was for good luck in a new department." he said before kissing her again, "That is to help motivate me through the rest of today." he kissed her again, much longer this time, "And that, is to let you know that I'l be right there with you when it's time to tell your parents." he said, making her blush and smile at him, feeling a little better knowing that Masamune would do that for her. "Thank you Takano-san."

Looking at the clock on the radio, she unbuckled her safety belt, "Let's get going before I start feeling affectionate." she said, getting out of the car before things get heated up in there.

Masamune smirked before following her into the building, feeling satisfied that they can be more than employees inside the building now. Getting inside the elevator, they each pressed an individual button that will separate them in the work area.

Masamune's eyes widened when he remembered something, "I seem to have forgotten something back in the car."

"Hmm? What did you forget?" Ritsu asked, she could've sworn that they got everything they needed from the car.

"This." was all he said before sealing his mouth onto hers the fourth time that morning as he pushed her against the wall of the elevator. Gasping upon contact, he used her surprise to sneak his tongue in and intertwine it with hers before pulling away, leaving her breathless as she stared at him in shock, "What the..." Ritsu said, feeling flustered by the sudden action.

Masamune merely smirked, " _That_ was to remind you of what's to come when we get home." he said, making Ritsu blush when she recalled what they almost ended up doing that morning.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out as the elevator dinged at Masamune's stop. With one more peck to the lips, he pulled away with a smirk, "See you tonight." was the last thing he said before exiting the elevator, leaving her alone in the box to be taken up to her new department.

Rutsu touched her lips, still feeling that tingling sensation that he left behind with that kiss. Their relationship has progressed rather nicely at the pace it was going. The next step is how they handle their work in a new environment that didn't have the other partner in it.

The elevator dinged again, signaling her arrival as she took a breath to calm her nerves. The doors opened before she stepped out of the elevator, ready to start her new job in literature.

* * *

 _ **Shorter than the last chapters I've written, but I thought I should end it right here.**_

 _ **Hope you liked the Masamune/Ritsu moments. This is just a build up for the moment where she has to confront her Mother.**_

 _ **Feel free to PM me if you have any questions**_


	15. Chapter 15

Throughout the day, Ritsu was given a rundown on what happens in the Literature Department and was assigned to help one of the editors that went by the name Aikawa. She made an instant friend in that woman when she found out that she works with one of her previous authors, Usami-sensei, back at her old company.

"No way! You were Usami-sensei's editor before me?" Aikawa asked as they ate lunch in the break room.

Ritsu laughed nervously in front of this woman who was completely taken by surprise when Ritsu told her about it, "Yep." was all she could get out before Aikawa bombarded with her with questions.

"Was he always late with his deadlines?"

"Yes."

"Did he always hide from you when it came to the manuscripts?"

"Unfortunately yes."

"How many books did you publish with him?"

"At least three."

Aikawa stopped asking in order to take it all in, the heir to Ondera Publishing who edited some of Usami-sensei's work will be helping her handle that lazy author. "This is amazing, I can't believe you worked with the Great Usami-sensei. But why did you quit your Father's company?" she asked, not understanding why she would walk out of working with the best authors.

Ritsu took a bite out of her lunch and answered, "I didn't want to ride my Father's coattails. I wanted to prove to the company that I can make it on my own in the editing department without my Father's help." she said, earning a look of admiration from the other woman.

"Wow," Aikawa started, "Now don't take this the wrong way, but a rich kid not taking advantage of her Father's connections in order to make it in the publishing business is a little baffling." she said, not wanting to insult her new coworker.

Ritsu nodded, "It's fine, I happen to find the independent lifestyle quite satisfying without my parents hanging over my shoulders." she said, before asking Aikawa, "By the way, how's Usami-sensei doing?"

Aikawa answered with a smile, "Oh, he's fine. In fact, better than fine. He's meeting _all_ his deadlines now because of his girlfriend." she said, looking like she was keeping something very crucial from Ritsu.

"Really, why is that?" Ritsu asked, very curious as to why Usami-sensei would meet his deadlines more efficiently than when she worked with him.

"Onodera."

Ritsu turned to see Masamune approaching her table with a cup of coffee in his hand. Ritsu greeted him as he sat down next to her, "Good afternoon Takano-san."

Aikawa's eyes widened when she recognized the name, "Wait, Takano-san, the editor-in-chief of Emerald?" she asked, staring at the two.

Masamune nodded his head in greeting, "Yeah, that's me." he said, not really caring as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, much to Ritsu's chagrin, "Takano-san, please not at work." she said, glaring at her former boss.

"What? I missed you and I need a recharge." Masamune said, giving Ritsu a lame excuse to get some physical with her.

"Just because we live together doesn't mean that you get to do this kind of thing at work." Ritsu said, feeling embarrassed because people could see what's going on.

Masamune merely tightened his hold on her, "Well I wanted to see how you were doing in your new department." he said, keeping all his attention on his lover.

"She's doing really well." Aikawa said, enjoying the show as they turned to her, "She's even helping me with some of Usami-sensei's work. Did she tell you that she used to edit some of his books before she came here?" she asked, making Ritsu go red at the feeling of being caught while Masamune's eyes widened.

"Wait, _you_ worked with _the_ Usami-sensei?" Masamune asked, facing Ritsu, finding this piece of information news to him and asked, "How come you never mentioned this before?"

Ritsu looked down, uncomfortable with the attention in a public place, "Well, you never asked, and it had nothing to do with the work we were doing. So I didn't see the point in talking about my previous job." she answered truthfully.

This caught Aikawa's attention, "Hold on, time out." she said, hands raised, catching their attention again, "You two worked together?" they nodded, not knowing what else to say as she continued, "And you two live together in the same house." she stated, making Ritsu blush and nod.

"It was actually a compromise: I work in literature, I live with him." Ritsu said, refusing to admit that there was something between them.

Aikawa blinked, "Why compromise?"

Masamune filled in, "So that we can raise our baby properly without having that boss and subordinate relationship." this earned him an elbow to the ribs, making him let go of Ritsu to hold his side.

"Don't just announce it to random people at work." Ritsu said through gritted teeth, not very happy that he would say it so casually in front of an employee.

Masamune grunted, she had a hard elbow, "I don't see the point in keeping it a secret, they're going to find out eventually." he said, the pain fading just a tad.

Aikawa stared at them with interest, their relationship was very similar to her author and his girlfriend. "So you two are expecting a baby?" Aikawa asked, bringing their attention back to her as they paused in their spat.

"Yeah, we are. Why?" Masamune said, earning a glare from Ritsu but ignored it as Aikawa smiled widely, "Because Usami-sensei is having one as well." she said, almost excitedly, making Ritsu and Masamune's eyes widen at this information.

"No way." Ritsu said, voicing hers and Masamune's disbelief.

Aikawa nodded, still smiling, "Mmhm, it's the main reason why he's meeting his deadlines. Plus, he's so overprotective of his girlfriend, he calls her at least ten times a day to make sure she's doing well." she said, feeling happy and relieved knowing that her author's girlfriend is having a positive effect on him.

Ritsu digested this new piece of information, "Wow, the Great Usami-sensei is going to be a Father. Now don't take this the wrong way, but when I worked with him, he didn't take much responsibility in cleanliness and didn't seem to be able to take care of himself." Ritsu said, still remembering the state his flat was in whenever she would come over. She's having a hard time picturing that serious author playing with an infant.

Aikawa smiled, understanding what she means, "Believe me, I had my doubts as well. But he's really putting a lot of effort into his work to spend more time with Misaki and get ready to be a Father. He's like a completely different person, and believe it or not, he actually smiles whenever she's around." Aikawa explained, having witnessed that side of Usami first hand whenever he and Misaki are in the same room together.

Ritsu blinked her eyes at her, still reeling from what this woman said, before said woman added, "And you know what else, since you'll be working with Usami-sensei, both your babies could even play together. It's really cute now that I think about it." Aikawa squealed, just picturing a mini-author and mini-editor playing with each other.

Masamune and Ritsu sweatdropped at the woman who seems to be lost in her world right now. "I'm trying, but I can't see it." Masamune said, not knowing what else to say considering the author he and Ritsu grew up knowing about is going to have a baby the same time as them.

"Oh, it's just a thought. It'd be good for the newest Usami to have friends to grow up with considering how much his parents work." Aikawa said, smiling at her suggestion.

Ritsu smiled, "Yes, that would be good." she said, before looking at the clock, "We should get back to work." she said, picking up her trash with Aikawa who nodded, "Yes, we should. It was nice meeting you Takano-san." she said, turning to Masamune who nodded.

"Likewise, just make sure you take care of Ritsu for me while she works with you." Masamune requested, to which Aikawa nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, she's in good hands." she said as she and Ritsu stood up to throw their trash away.

Masamune threw his empty cup away as the two ladies walked together towards the exit. "Onodera." His voice stopped Ritsu in her tracks as she turned around to face Masamune, "Yes?" she answered.

Aikawa got that feeling that he wanted to be alone with Ritsu, "I'll go on ahead." she said before leaving Ritsu with Masamune as the former responded, "'Kay."

Ritsu turned back to Masamune who approached, "What did you need again?" was all she was able to ask before he planted his lips onto hers suddenly when he got close enough to hold her.

Ritsu was shocked, as usual, by his sudden advances. Thankfully, they were the only ones in the break room, she didn't want anyone to see her in such a position.

Masamune pulled away, enjoying the flustered look on Ritsu's face as she looked down with a blush, "Will you please not do that while we're at work." she said, feeling self-conscious for having him do it at such a place where they could get fired.

Masamune smiled wrapping his arms around Ritsu, "I need some motivation to get me through the rest of the day. I missed you." he whispered to her, making her blush at his words.

"I-Idiot. We live together now. No need to get all dramatic. We have like..." she craned her neck to look at the clock over his shoulder, "...three more hours before we can go home." she finished, glaring up at him, "Please do me a favor, let me go back to work." she said, not wanting any objections since they're at work.

Masamune sighed, "Fine." before reluctantly releasing her from his hold, wanting to have more physical contact with Ritsu.

Ritsu, still blushing, straightened her clothes out, "See you later." she said, before walking out of the break room at a fast pace, not wanting Masamune to continue, knowing that they could get fired for misconduct.

Arriving at the Literature Department, she took her seat at her desk beside Aikawa, letting out a breath in order to calm her nerves. "You sure took your time." Aikawa said suggestively as she edited the manuscript in her hand.

Ritsu blushed at the implication, "It wasn't like that, he was just...making sure that I was doing well in Literature." she said, feeling blood rush to her cheeks, knowing that Aikawa didn't believe her.

"Oh? Then what is that cologne that I'm smelling?" Aikawa asked, catching the manly scent that was coming off of Ritsu.

"Er...well...you see...it's because-no comment." Ritsu stammered out, blushing at the feeling of getting caught doing something naughty.

Aikawa smiled, "You two make a cute couple." she commented, writing down marks on her manuscript.

Ritsu blushed and quickly denied, "We are not a couple. We just live under the same roof and are casually expecting our baby." she said, trying to come up with an excuse that shows she and Masamune are _not_ a couple.

Aikawa laughed under her breath, "But you two have sex, right?" she said, enjoying the redness that painted Ritsu's face. "Eh, er, maybe." Ritsu said, feeling hot in the face as she tried to concentrate on her work.

"Yep, you're a couple." Aikawa said, ignoring the glare that came from the other woman as she continued working.

Ritsu wanted to argue with the woman, but decided against it as she concentrated on her work, wanting to forget this conversation, ' _Damn you Takano-san.'_ she mentally cursed her baby daddy for holding her up like that in the break room.

Hours later, she was done for the day. Holding her bag, she rode the elevator as it made a stop at the fourth floor. The doors opened, revealing Masamune as he stepped into the elevator, joining Ritsu as the doors closed and they descended to the first floor.

Noticing the scowl on Masamune's face, she couldn't help but ask, "Rough day?"

Masamune sighed, feeling exhausted, "Yeah, mangakas always coming up with an excuse not to turn in their work." he started, feeling tired from all the crap he went through today, "Although Chiharu has a good enough reason with the pregnancy and such." he added, recalling Hatori leaving the department earlier in order to take care of her.

"How's she doing?" Ritsu asked as they got off the elevator and making their way through the lobby.

"She's doing fine. Just a bit more tired than usual with all the deadlines combined with the pregnancy." He answered, holding the door open for her to pass through before following her to his car.

Ritsu nodded, "No surprise there, I tend to just drop the moment I'm done with something as well." she said as Masamune unlocked the car before they both climbed in.

"Really? I thought it was always me tiring you out whenever we have sex." Masamune said, putting on his glasses while Ritsu blushed, "That's only half the reason why I pass out. Hopefully I didn't fall asleep during those times." she mumbled the last part, the blush still on her cheeks.

Masamune smiled as he started the car, "Nah, it was always after." he confirmed, having heard her loud and clear as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove them home.

Her cell phone rang, digging through her bag, she found it and flipped it open, "Dad?" she read the caller ID before answering it, "Hello?" she said as she held it to her ear.

"RITSU! DON'T YOU DARE HANG UP THIS TIME!" Her Mother's voice cut through the inside of the car, ringing Ritsu's eardrum.

Ritsu groaned, the pain in her ear throbbing before she realized something, "Mom? What the hell are you doing with Dad's phone?" she asked, getting over the shock of her Mother's voice.

"Seeing how you seem to be ignoring my calls all day, THIS was the only way I can speak with you. You and I need to talk." Her Mother demanded, obviously displeased with her daughter not picking up the phone.

Ritsu growled under her breath, but tried to control herself from screaming into the phone, "Sorry Mother, but I just started my job in the Literature Department _today,_ so forgive me for wanting to make a good impression by being dedicated to my job." she said, speaking in half-truths before she moved the phone at arm's' length from her ear.

"That's wonderful to hear dear." Her Mother began, not really impressed with her daughter's tone, "I've been trying to contact you to tell you to come to the mansion on Wednesday, there's something we need to discuss." she said with authority.

However, Ritsu refused to follow orders, "Sorry Mother, but I have to decline, I cannot let myself be distracted from my job right now. Whatever needs to be discussed, do it over the phone, I'll be too busy with editing to visit, I'm sorry." she said, not liking the idea of coming back to the mansion after finally finding some sort of stability in her life.

"You can't decline this one Ritsu, we've already set up the marriage interview." Her Mother's single sentence caused something to snap inside of Ritsu.

Before anyone could comprehend it, Ritsu all but screamed into her phone, "WHAT MARRIAGE INTERVIEW? SINCE WHEN HAVE I EVER AGREED TO SUCH A THING?!" That volume was enough to make Masamune flinch.

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me-" "Uh uh, no way. Now listen here, you're going to call this interviewee, or whoever he is, and you're going to apologize to him and that you're very ashamed for going behind your daughter's back." Ritsu interrupted, refusing to listen to her Mother's argument.

"What, how dare you speak to me that way? I am doing this for our family, and you should be grateful that I'm making sure that you don't grow old alone." Her Mother argued back, not liking this rebellious side.

"Well, too bad, I'm not interested in getting married to some total stranger." Ritsu said, scoffing at this woman's 'good' intentions for the sake of her daughter.

"Then explain to me why you refuse to get married." Her Mother ordered rather than asked, hating the fact that Ritsu refuses to follow through with her family's expectations.

"Because I already have a boyfriend!" The words left her mouth before she could figure out what to say to her Mother.

"Excuse me?" Her Mother asked, shock filling her voice, "When on Earth did this happen?"

"About six months ago." Ritsu lied through her teeth, an angry expression on her face for having to answer these questions with Masamune sitting right next to her.

"And what does he do?"

"He's an editor, like me. And yes, we are very serious." Ritsu answered, not completely lying as they pulled into their apartment garage.

Her Mother stayed silent on the other end before she spoke again, "How about this, since you refuse to make it to make it to the marriage interview, me and your Father would like to meet him." she said, making all the color drain from Ritsu's face.

Her eyebrow twitched, "When exactly?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"This Saturday at 3pm sharp." Her Mother answered, not taking no for an answer.

"Alright, we'll come over." Ritsu said, knowing that she cannot back out of this one.

"Good, and make sure you be there." was the last thing her Mother said before she hung on the other end.

Ritsu snapped her phone shut, "Yeah, we'll be there...with a club of garlic and wooden stake." she said, glaring at her phone with so much fury that it looked like it would catch flames.

Masamune had already parked the car and sat there, waiting for Ritsu to end her heated argument with her Mother. She turned her glaring eyes to Masamune, causing him to internally flinch at the fire within them, "And you, make sure you bring a cross and some holy water." she ordered, leaving no room for argument before she wretched the car door open and stomped towards the elevator.

Masamune followed silently behind her until they were inside the elevator, "So I really _am_ going to meet your parents." he said, not knowing what else to say, but knowing all too well that she needed someone to talk to.

Ritsu crossed her arms, glaring at the elevator doors in front of her, "Unfortunately. But it was either that, or have some asshole of a fiance." she said, still very pissed off at her Mother doing something without her consent.

Ritsu didn't pull away when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her towards his body, "Well, it was going to happen one way or another, so we might as well get it over with." he said, giving her a gentle squeeze before they arrived on their floor.

"I was rather hoping that you _never_ have to meet my family." Ritsu stated as they walked together towards Masamune's apartment, "And just so we're clear, the whole calling you my boyfriend thing, I had to lie to my Mother to get her off my back about the whole engagement shit." she said, not wanting to give him any more ideas than he already has.

Masamune opened the door, leading her inside as he shut the door behind them, "Oh, and what do you call living together, having a baby, and making love in the same bed if I'm not your boyfriend?" he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Ritsu blushed, having been asked that question the second time that day, "Erm, well, we're..." she took a deep breath, "...we're parents with benefits who just happen to live together!" she exclaimed, closing her eyes, blushing loudly in embarrassment.

Masamune stayed silent, which made Ritsu uncomfortable knowing that wasn't a good sign. Without so much as a warning, he picked her up bridal style, much to her protest, "Hey, what the hell? Put me down already." she said, blushing at his action as he carried her through the apartment.

Kicking the bedroom door open and shut it in the same fashion as he carried her to the bed. Depositing her at the center, he attacked her mouth with his, making her gasp which he took advantage of by putting his tongue in her mouth.

Masamune pulled away so that they can catch their breath, "Um, Takano-san, I still have work I need to do." she said, still feeling a little flustered from being kissed so suddenly.

Masamune took off her coat, keeping his eyes on her as she blushed, "Work can wait, I cannot. 'Sides, I must be 'beneficial' to you right now." he said smiling, shedding himself of his shirt before he went back down to her, planting his lips on hers again. Ritsu returned his kiss on reflex, letting her instincts take over as Masamune undressed her until they were both bare to each other.

Masamune hovered over her, admiring that glow that came off of her skin, making her look even more beautiful. Ritsu blushed, feeling vulnerable under his gaze as he stared at her. He kissed her deeply, closing their eyes as they immersed themselves in each other. Allowing their hands to touch the other, to make sure that they were both there.

Masamune's hand traveled along her curve of her waist, tracing it as he kissed her neck and collarbone, making her gasp when he touched a sensitive spot with his lips. She moaned when his hand found her womanhood and started massaging her inner lips until he latched onto her clit, making her gasp and whine in pleasure.

His lips found hers again, letting her moan into his mouth as he continued to pleasure her with his fingers. When he felt her tense up, signalling her approaching orgasm, he pulled his fingers away, earning a groan of disappointment from Ritsu for being denied her climax. He kissed her neck to calm her down as he stealthly positioned himself at her entrance.

Licking her essence off his fingers, he took her hands in his and wove them together before entering her. She gasped at the intrusion as he filled her with his penis, invading every inch of her until he was completely sheathed within her. He stayed still so that she could get used to him, letting her adjust to his size before he could move.

Ritsu looked up at him and nodded, letting him know it was okay to move. Masamune nodded as well before pulling out slowly and thrusting back in, causing her to arch her back in pleasure. She continued to moan as he kept thrusting, caressing her walls with his penis every time he pulled out and entered her again.

He quickened his thrusts, making Ritsu's breasts jiggle with the motion as she moaned louder, feeling her end approaching again. Her orgasm hit her, making her arch her back off the bed as Masamune stiffened above her, shaking as he shot his sperm into her body, prolonging her climax.

She panted, a sheen layer of sweat coating her body from the heat of their session. Just when she felt herself come down from her climax, she yelped in surprising pleasure when her clit was fondled again. She writhed, still feeling Masamune inside of her as her hardened clit was being massaged.

"Ta-kano-saaaan." she whined, feeling her exhausted body come alive again, "What are you...doing?" she moaned out, gripping the pillow behind her head as Masamune started to thrust into her again.

Masamune smiled devilishly, "Making love to you." he said, keeping his thumb on her clit as he continued thrusting into her.

She gasped at the feeling of his slick penis invading her sensitive walls, "But...you are usually done on your first...c-climax. You shouldn't...tire yourself out...you still...have...work that...needs to be...done." she tried to reason with him, gasping and shivering at the pleasure that seemed to have increased since their not-too-long-ago session.

Masamune disregarded her words as he bent his head down to suckle at her nipple, adding to her pleasure as he continued his thrusts. "This has been building up since this morning, so I've got to let it all out or else it will get worse." he said, releasing her nipple to suck at her neck.

Ritsu moaned loudly when he hit that spot within her that made her see spots, "Th-That's a...horrible excuse." she tried speaking through the pleasure, but his thrusts cut her off.

Masamune chuckled slightly at Ritsu's attempt to argue with him at a time like this as his lips reached her ears, "It's not an excuse, it's a perfectly valid reason." he held himself up to look her in the eyes, "I've been lonely all day, I missed you." he added, making Ritsu blush at the emotion in his voice.

Ritsu couldn't think of what to say as Masamune's eyes stared down at her, "We...live together now. This was something...we agreed on for our baby." she said, moaning as he went back to kissing her neck.

She felt him smile against her neck, "Exactly, this is what makes this so much better. Knowing that I can have you all to myself outside of work." he said, increasing his tempo, feeling her walls tighten around him once more.

Ritsu moaned louder as she held onto Masamune, not exactly sure when she had her arms around him with her hands buried in his hair, but she needed something to hold on to to bear with the pleasure he was giving her. She scratched at his back as she felt herself come closer to her second release for the day.

"Ma-Masa-kun...Masa-kun..." she repeated his name helplessly, unable to handle the pleasure as she gripped his hair tighter.

Masamune grunted with each thrust, "Ritsu, cum with me again." he groaned, thrusting into her a few more times before their orgasms hit them once more. Ritsu threw her head back against the pillow, arching her back as she screamed his name, feeling her insides getting warm as Masamune shot into her body again.

Masamune panted with her, trembling from the sheer effort of keeping most of his weight off of her before he fell to the side, pulling out of her as he held her to his chest. He felt her breath on his neck as she tried to get her breathing back in order. He laid there content as he ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying the softness in those tresses.

Ritsu felt her eyelids getting heavy, "Masa-kun." she tried to say, but was gently shushed by Masamune, "Shhhhh, it's okay Ritsu. You just rest now." he said, slowly caressing her back, lulling her to sleep.

Ritsu sighed, closing her eyes as she let herself fall asleep in his embrace.

Masamune smiled down at his ever reluctant lover, watching as she slept in his arms. Looking at the clock on their bedside, he realized that he still had work to do. But for now, he was just content with keeping her in his embrace.

* * *

 _ **Hope you all liked this one. I put everything into this one as a build up for the confrontation.**_

 ** _Also, Happy Birthday to_ MissRandomness18 _who asked me to post this as a birthday present. Hope this was good._**

 ** _Send me some feedback and tell me what you think of that argument._**


	16. Chapter 16

Saturday at 3pm

Masamune sat in the driver's seat, his eyes twitching as he beheld the structure before him. "Ritsu." she said to the woman beside him who stared at the building with a completely bored expression, having seen this place all her life.

"Yeah?" she asked, knowing that Masamune was astonished by the building that stood behind the large gate.

"Remind me again what was so bad about living here again." Masamune said, his eyes still on the mansion that had three floors to it, maybe four?

"Don't let looks deceive you, as grand as this place is, it's lonely when you're the only child in that big house." Ritsu said, staring at her childhood home with sadness, remembering the empty hallways she would roam in search for company.

Masamune grasped her hand in his, knowing all too well what that feeling was like. "It's going to be alright. It's just for an hour." he said, trying to reassure her.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Ritsu said, a dark aura hanging over her head as she stared at her old home with baggy eyes. She had not gotten any sleep the night before, just the thought of meeting her Mother again gave her a bad case of insomnia that lasted the whole week.

"How many hours of sleep did you get last night?" Masamune asked, noticing the bags under her eyes.

Ritsu thought it over, remembering how she kept waking up, though she wasn't sure if she _did_ get any ounce of sleep last night. "I don't know, five, maybe ten minutes?" she asked rather than answered.

Masamune's eyes widened, " _Ten minutes?_ I thought you knock out after an orgasm or two." he said, making Ritsu blush and turn to glare at him, "Why you..." she said menacingly, ready to kill him for that comment.

Masamune smirked, "Well, looks like you got your fighting spirit back. That means you're good to go." he said, almost encouragingly as Ritsu continued to glare at him before she looked away with a 'hmph,' "Whatever, let's just get this over with and storm the evil witch's castle before we chicken out." she said, causing Masamune to chuckle before rolling down his window to press the button of the intercom.

The com buzzed before a voice addressed them, "Hello, please state your business."

Ritsu leaned forward from her side, "It's me Tomo-san, my Mother has been expecting us." she said, recognizing the voice of the family butler.

"Ah, Ritsu-sama, it's good to hear your voice again, please come on in." Tomo said from the com before the gates opened and Masamune drove through the opened gate.

Driving around the large fountain that was located in front of the main entrance, Masamune stopped the car the corner of said entrance. Getting out of the car, Masamune and Ritsu walked up the stone steps. Standing in front of the double doors, Ritsu used the door knocker to signal their arrival before taking a step back beside Masamune.

As they waited, Masamune asked, "How're you feeling?"

"Sick to my stomach, and it's not my condition that's causing it." Ritsu answered, staring at the doors with trepidation as Masamune squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"I feel like I'm gonna scream at her the moment she says something nasty." She added, feeling anxiety build up at the thought of having a conversation with her Mother.

Masamune looked at her with sympathy, "How about this, if you ever feel the urge to lash out at her, just squeeze my hand like a stress ball." he offered, giving her his full support as she nodded in agreement before the doors opened.

"Show time, let's break some legs." Ritsu said before they went inside as Masamune chuckled at her dry sense of humor.

The inside of the mansion was very lavish in its modern style where Masamune admired the decor, "Nice." he said out loud as Ritsu shrugged, "You get used to it." she said as a middle aged man stood in front of them with a polite smile on his face.

"Good afternoon Ritsu-sama. It's wonderful to see you once again." he said as he bowed to her, to which she did the same out of habit when greeting someone.

Ritsu returned the smile, "It's good to see you too Tomo-san." she said, before she introduced them to each other, "Tomo-san, this is my boyfriend, Masamune Takano. Taka-Masa-kun, this is Tomo-san, the family butler."

Masamune bowed to the elder gentlemen in respect, "It's nice to meet you sir." he said as Tomo returned the gesture and said, "Likewise. Ritsu-sama, your Mother and Father are waiting for you in the parlour." he said as he led them to where her parents waited.

Ritsu took a deep breath to calm her anxiety, "Joy." she said unenthusiastically as she walked hand in hand with Masamune without realizing it.

Approaching the parlour felt like forever to Ritsu due to her rising anxiety knowing that her Mother and Father are just a doorway away. Tomo knocked on the door, "Ritsu-sama has arrived." he announced before all three of them heard a faint 'come in.'

Tomo opened the double doors and stepped aside for Masamune and Ritsu to enter. Masamune couldn't help but stare at the decor of the parlour, it was nicely clean and had a fresh scent of flowers in the air.

Two people in the middle of the room caught his attention: one was a green-eyed stern looking woman who had hair that was a darker shade than Ritsu's; the other was a male who looked to be the same age as the woman he sat beside, except he had a much kinder look to him as he looked at his daughter with warm eyes.

Both Onoderas were in business suits while Ritsu and Masamune were wearing something more casual. ' _I feel like a sore thumb now.'_ was what went on through Masamune's head as he and Ritsu made their way over to the couple to greet them.

Ritsu's Father stood up from his chair, "Ritsu-chan, it so good to see you my dear girl." he said smiling at Ritsu as came over with a hesitant smile of her own before giving her a hug and kiss to the forehead.

They pulled away as Ritsu smiled fondly at her Father, her first favorite person in the world, "It's good to see you too Dad." she said before turning her head to her Mother who looked uninterested as she drank her tea, staring at Ritsu and Masamune with emotionless eyes.

Not wanting to be rude to her Mother, she nodded her head to her in greeting, "Hello Mother." she said, almost tensely as her Mother returned the gesture.

Ritsu and Masamune sat down on the lavish couch across from the Onoderas before taking a quiet deep breath, "Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Masamune Takano." she said, trying to sound comfortable as Masamune sat beside her.

"It's wonderful to meet the two of you, your daughter has told me much about you." Masamune said, nodding his head in polite greeting.

"Funny, she never mentioned you until just recently." Ritsu's Mother said, subtly insulting Masamune as Ritsu predicted.

"Dear, please be nice to him." Ritsu's Father said, chastising his wife before apologizing to Masamune, "Forgive her. My name is Daisuke and this is my wife, Sayuri." Sayuri nodded in acknowledgement rather than respect.

The maids brought in the horderves and set them on the coffee table between the two couples. "So Takano-san, Ritsu said that you're an editor like her." Daisuke said as Masamune nodded his answer before the older man asked, "Do you work in Literature as well?"

Masamune shook his head, "Actually I work on Shojo Manga; I'm also the editor-in-chief in the Emerald Department." he answered, which Daisuke nodded with an impressed look, "Editor-in chief? You must've worked hard to get to where you are. But you are happy with your job, right?" he asked, engaging Masamune in conversation.

Masamune nodded, "Yes, I'm quite satisfied. Though it's sometimes stressful, my team is able to get the job done." he said, feeling proud of his work as Ritsu smiled in encouragement.

The mood however, was interrupted, "Onodera Publishing doesn't have a manga department, so we don't really know how it all works when it's mostly pictures instead vocab filled pages." Sayuri commented, scoffing at the idea of something that seemed more childish and lazy compared to regular books in her opinion.

Ritsu caught the tone in her Mother's voice, making her want to stand up and stomp on her for belittling the work she and Masamune did together briefly. But instead, she squeezed Masamune's hand tightly in order to control her anger as Masamune winced slightly at the pressure.

Calmly as practiced, she tried to explain to her Mother, "To be honest Mother, it's not that bad. The mangakas tell the story through their artwork and dialogue to create the drama for their readers to enjoy. Also, his team has edited some of the best works in the Manga Department. He's very good at what he does." she said, making Masamune smile at her praise.

Sayuri sipped her tea, "I wouldn't know it if I had read it." she said dismissively, not particularly caring for the subject.

Ritsu breathed quietly to control her anger and patience, "Maybe if you and Dad added manga to the editing department, your customers might be willing to buy the product and it would be good for the company as well. There are more manga readers than you realize." she said, proposing something new for her family's company for the first time since she left said company.

Sayuri put down her cup of tea and looked at Ritsu sternly, "Sweetheart, in case you've forgotten, our company publishes and sells _books,_ not _picture books_." she said, wanting to end the subject, "Our company has done fine with just Literature and Magazines, and should stay that way." she added, stating her opinion.

Ritsu felt a little stung at her comment as she gripped Masamune's hand to get a grip on her hormones, "I know, I was just proposing something new since I'll be taking over the company someday." she said, trying not to glare at her Mother for being so disinterested in her idea.

Having developed a sixth sense from living with his wife and daughter for years, Daisuke was able to sense when something was about to go bad as he changed the subject, "So Takano-san, how did you and Ritsu meet exactly?" he asked, not wanting there to be another spat between Mother and Daughter.

Masamune gladly answered for Ritsu's sake, "Well, I was her boss in the Emerald Department when she first started work at Marukawa. The higher-ups made a mistake and placed her in my department when she was supposed to go into Literature. For a newbie, she was able to learn fast and is quite dedicated to her job." he said, making Ritsu blush at his compliment before he told the story of the time she went to Mutou-sensei, "One time, when we were nearing our deadline with Mutou-sensei's book, Ritsu rushed over to Hokkaido to help her when she and her assistants came down with the flu. Made it back in the nick of time before the printers pulled the plug on Mutou-sensei's book." he said, very proud of Ritsu's dedication and responsibility when everyone else doubted her.

Ritsu looked down with a blush as her Father laughed with pride, "That's Ritsu for you, always dedicated to her work no matter how difficult it is. I know that since she got that from my side of the family." she said, smiling at his daughter who laughed sheepishly at his praise.

"Yes, she always had her nose in the books, always ready to learn new things. Which is one of the main reasons why we sent her to England to get an even higher education." Sayuri added, smiling slightly since she was the one who suggested it in the first place to further Ritsu's future.

Masamune and Ritsu cringed inwardly at the mention of Ritsu's transference to England since that was where she ran the day after that misunderstanding which separated them.

Ritsu squeezed his hand in reassurance before Masamune asked, "What made you decide England?" Masamune asked, turning his gaze to the stern woman.

Sayuri smiled, though it wasn't exactly friendly in Masamune's opinion, "The location, the atmosphere, but mostly for Ritsu to further her chances to go into one of the best universities in Japan. She disagreed at first, but soon warmed up to the idea in the middle of her third year in highschool." she said, feeling happy that she got Ritsu to do what she wanted that time.

Ritsu wanted to wipe that smile off that woman's face, knowing all too well the real reason for wanting her to go to England. Feeling like the temperature got warmer, Ritsu excused herself, "Please excuse me, but I just need to use the bathroom for a moment." she said, getting up and bowing to her parents before leaving the parlour to 'freshen up.' Masamune was left alone with Ritsu's parents, feeling a little awkward as he sat with them.

Daisuke was about to start another conversation with Masamune, but a maid appeared beside him and told him that someone on the phone was asking for him. He stood, "Pardon me, but someone is asking for my attention. I'll be right back." he excused himself before leaving Masamune and Sayuri alone.

Outside, Masamune was calm, but inside, ' _Wait, come back! Don't leave me alone with this woman!'_ he begged, feeling mildly uncomfortable with the Onodera matriarch.

That awkward silence hung over the two of them, ' _Ritsu, please hurry up, I feel like this woman is about to kill me.'_ he pleaded with Ritsu to come back soon since he doesn't know how to handle her Mother the way Ritsu does.

"You seem rather fond of my daughter, considering she's the heir to the Onodera throne." Sayuri said, narrowing her eyes at the man that was ruining her plans for Ritsu.

Masamune knew he was being judged by this woman, "With all due respect Onodera-sama, I don't much care for that. I loved her long before I knew she was heir to your company." he said, feeling like he has to defend himself against her.

Sayuri scoffed, "I find that hard to believe. She's a young, beautiful young woman who will run one of the most successful businesses in Japan. While you, someone who comes from a low class family, edits manga for a living. It's unlikely that you would provide for her the way she was provided here in this mansion. She's hardly in your league now that I think about." she smiled ruefully, not masking her dislike towards him.

Masamune smiled, "You're right, she's way out of my league. Sure she was given a life of luxury, and yes she was raised with expectations to run the company one day." he paused to look her in the eye, "However, never once did she ever talk about taking the Onodera throne. She depends on no one to get her by in her line of work, especially her parents. That makes her different from everyone else, and that's what I love most about her. The fact that she would choose her own path and not let anyone make the decisions for her, makes me want to be with her even more." he said, refusing to let this woman intimidate him.

Sayuri continued to stare at Masamune as he kept his eyes locked onto hers, "I don't care where she came from, just the fact that she would choose me is enough to give my life meaning." he paused for a second, "I'm not expecting you accept me, I just wanted you to know that I love Ritsu with every fibre of my being."

After his speech, Sayuri stayed silent before she grabbed her purse that was beside her and took out a notepad and started writing something down. Masamune stared at her in confusion as she began to speak, "You say you love her, but what will she gain if she chooses to remain with you? Her fiance's family was one of the wealthiest people in the country, she would grow old surrounded by wealth and comfort had she gone along with the engagement." she said, tearing the slip of paper from her notepad and slid it toward Masamune.

Masamune looked down at the slip of paper and widened his eyes, it was a check for fifty-million yen. Looking up at the older woman in confusion before she explained, "That money is for you to start your life over elsewhere. You can start your own business and have a multitude of women falling at your feet. Have a family of your own and give them a better life than the one you probably had." she said, smiling inwardly, confident that this man would not refuse.

Masamune stared down at written check in front of him, never had anyone made this kind of offer, "Are you really that desperate to keep me out of your daughter's life?" he asked, feeling very disgusted by this woman.

Sayuri shrugged, "I wouldn't be this desperate if I'm not thinking about my daughter's future." she said, watching as Masamune continued to eye the piece of paper.

Masamune raised his hand and, as if in slow motion, reached for the check. Sayuri watched with a racing heart, feeling quite satisfied that he wouldn't refuse such an opportunity. Placing his two fingers on the paper...he slid it back to the spiteful woman, "Forgive me, Onodera-sama. The offer is tempting, but I must decline." he said, taking his hand away from the written check before leaning back in his spot on the couch.

Sayuri glared at him, but before she could say anything-

 ***BANG***

The sound of the doors slamming open startled Masamune and Sayuri to look at the parlour entrance to see Ritsu glaring hatefully at her Mother, "Is that why you wanted to meet him, so that you could get him to leave?" she asked, more angry than ever as she stomped towards her Mother as the latter stood up, returning her glare.

"Everything I did, I did for you and the Onodera name." Sayuri said, raising her voice to her daughter who dared speak to her that way.

Ritsu stood toe-to-toe with her Mother, "Why, so that you won't get dragged back down the way your first husband did when he left you?" she sneered, making the other woman's eyes widen at the truth that was being thrown at her, "How did you know?"

Ritsu continued glaring at her, "Doesn't matter how I knew. But all that _you_ should know right now, is that this whole trying to control my life ends right now, because I choose him!" she declared, ignoring the look of surprise on Masamune's face as Sayuri went red in the face with anger.

Sayuri glared back at her daughter, "And why would you choose him?" she asked with so much contempt as Ritsu breathed heavily from her declaration.

' _No going back now.'_ was all that went through Ritsu's head before she said as calmly as she could, "Because he is the Father of my child." her voice was heavy with emotion as she glared at Sayuri, prepared for whatever comes at this point.

At that moment, Daisuke rushed in with Tomo trailing behind him, having informed the master of the house of what was going on, "Sayuri-"

 ***Slap***

Before anyone could have the chance to react, Sayuri slapped Ritsu with such force that it sent her to the ground grasping her cheek as she tasted blood in her mouth. "Ritsu!" Masamune quickly rushed to her side to check her cheek to see that it was already red and that blood peeked out at the corner of her lips.

Daisuke stomped over to his wife and jerked her away from their daughter, "Sayuri, have you gone mad?!" he questioned her, furious that she would treat Ritsu so violently.

Sayuri jerked her arm out of his grasp, "It is what she deserved Daisuke, she has disgraced our family name." she said, feeling no sense of guilt as Daisuke glared at his wife.

Masamune held Ritsu as he helped her to her feet, "Heh, you know, that's funny coming from the bitch who is more than willing to sell her daughter to the highest bidder. That's more disgusting and disgraceful than a simple pregnancy. Congratulations, you're Mother of the year." Ritsu said, grinning hatefully at her Mother that dared hurt her and her baby despite the pain in her cheek.

Sayuri stepped forward as though to challenge her, "What did you say young lady?" she said threateningly before Daisuke got between them, not wanting his daughter to be harmed anymore than she was.

Daisuke met Masamune's eyes, "Takano-san, please take my daughter with you." he requested, not wishing for this to drag.

Masamune nodded before he started pulling Ritsu to the door, "Hold on, just one more thing I have to take care." Ritsu stopped him before she got out of his arms and marched around her father who didn't know what she was doing until-

 ***POW***

Masamune and Daisuke flinched at the sound before Sayuri fell to the ground clutching her bleeding nose. Ritsu stood over her as she blew the steam that came off her fist from the force she put into that punch. "That was for my baby. The next time you try to hurt me or my kid, I promise you're gonna need plastic surgery to put your face back to normal." Ritsu said, giving her Mother her final warning before spinning around towards the door with Masamune following close behind her.

* * *

 _ **Sorry to cut this off so abruptly, but I wanted to end it right here. Don't worry, I will continue this in the next chapter. But until then, send me at least five reviews for this chapter before I give you the next one.**_


	17. Chapter 17

Masamune carefully applied ointment to Ritsu's damaged cheek as they sat on the couch.

"I guess it's safe to say that we won't be invited to Christmas dinner." Masamune said, still reeling from today's events.

Ritsu winced slightly as the ointment was applied, "No shit. I was out of the room for two minutes, _two minutes_ , and she had the nerve to pull that shit with you. I knew that meeting her was a bad idea, but did I listen to myself? Absolutely not. We should've amscray _before_ we even went inside." Ritsu vented, still very mad at her Mother for bribing Masamune the way she did.

Masamune nodded as he capped the medicine, "You were right when you said she was unpleasant. I find it hard to believe that you two are even related." he said as he leaned back on the couch with his arm around Ritsu, as though to keep her from being taken away from him.

Ritsu leaned into him, getting comfortable as she rested her uninjured cheek on his chest. "Well believe it, because it's true." she said, still thinking back to that final slap her Mother struck her with.

"Ritsu, I know this is a sensitive topic and that we just came back from hell," Masamune started, making Ritsu giggle lightly, "but was that the first time she slapped you like that?" he asked, rubbing her back, providing her with emotional support.

Ritsu stayed silent as she nuzzled into Masamune's chest before she answered, "Not really, she's always been like that. She never wanted children in the first place." she said, remembering the first time her Mother raised her hand to her, "The real reason why she had me conceived was so that she could keep the Onodera name and have the comfortable lifestyle. I can never remember a moment where she actually smiled and hugged me. She would always come up with excuses not to be around me when I needed her the most." she said, explaining what her childhood was like with her Mother as Masamune held her tighter.

"My Father was the only person that truly loved me...the only one that kept me sane in that mansion along with the books that helped me escape that painful reality of being alone." Ritsu added, tears coming to her eyes as she remembered all those times she reached out to her Mother, only for the woman to turn away from her daughter.

Masamune held onto her, letting her cry the tears she kept inside from years of neglect stain his shirt. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that on your own. I wish I had done something." he said, wanting nothing more than to go back to that moment when he laughed and take her as far away from their families to keep her safe.

"It's not your fault. We couldn't have known since we were still children at the time." Ritsu said, silently enjoying his arms around her, "By the way, that whole bullshit of her having me go to England to 'further my education,' was for me and Momiji to get to know each other better and 'fall in love.'" she scoffed, still angry at her Mother for trying to control everything.

"That explains a lot." Masamune said, very happy that she didn't fall for her 'fiance' like her Mother had planned. A thought suddenly struck him, "Out of curiousity, what's going to happen now that your parents know?" he asked, worried about what happens next.

Ritsu shrugged against him, "As far as I know, they'll disown me. I don't much care what happens to me, I just want our baby to grow up with parents she can count on and not have the childhood we both had. Our baby doesn't deserve that." she said, vowing to protect her little one from her Mother.

Masamune took her chin and made her look up, "If it ever comes to that, I'll be there for you and our child. Your Mother may have had some control in your life, but she won't have any part in our baby's life." he said, making Ritsu smile at him, wincing a little since smiling hurt her cheek.

Masamune smiled back before he kissed her gently, making sure he didn't hurt her anymore than she already was. Pulling away slightly, he said, "Just so there's no judgements, it really did my heart good to see you get back at your Mother." this made Ritsu giggle lightly at his comment.

Ritsu looked down when she thought back to that moment she punched her Mother for what she did, "I don't know what got into me. When she slapped me, I felt nothing but pure anger for trying to hurt my baby. It all became a blur after that." she said, feeling somewhat ashamed for her behavior, but also happy that she stood up to that abusive woman.

"Well, you're pregnant and easy to piss off. We _could_ just blame it on the pregnancy symptoms, but I'd like to say that it was your Motherly instincts doing the job." Masamune said smiling as Ritsu looked up at him in confusion, "Really?" she asked, never thinking that instincts could trigger like that.

Masamune nodded, "Yeah, if that punch was for the sake of the baby, it shows that you're gonna be a very overprotective Mom, and that you're not gonna let anything happen to him." he said, making Ritsu smile and nod, "Or her." she added, causing Masamune to smile, "Or her." he repeated before bringing her in for another kiss.

"But you know what really sucks about today," Ritsu said, trying to feel the mood but could not because of a certain someone, "what she said still bothers me. She says I'm a disgrace, yet everything she has done in my life outweighs the tiniest mishaps _I've_ made." she let out a breath, "I have this strong urge to let my anger out on her for every crap she did to me." she finished, feeling mad because she can't be aroused when she's angry.

Masamune nodded, understanding where she's coming from as he tried to maintain his hard on. An idea struck him, "Exactly, how angry are you?" he asked, trying to keep the grin off his face in an attempt to show that he's serious.

"Enough to let my anger out on anything. Why?" She asked, sensing something conniving coming from Masamune from over a year of practice.

Masamune allowed the smirk to come onto his face, "Well, you _could_ use that negative energy for something positive. Before you take it out on me, hear me out. You're feeling nothing but raw anger and you want to take it out on the source of it. See, you can use that anger in the bedroom and let your energy out on me during sex." he finished his proposal, letting her think it over before adding, "I'll even let you be on top."

Ritsu hummed as she thought it over, she needed to get this anger over with and move forward. The upside, she can finally be in control in the bedroom for once and it will greatly relieve some stress. The downside, Masamune will probably use this against her in the future and she'll be sore by tomorrow.

Getting off the couch with a sudden burst of energy, she tugged Masamune with her, "Come with me." she said, feeling a sense of authority as she dragged Masamune to the bedroom.

"Huh?" Masamune asked, bewildered by her order before she answered, "We're gonna have sex!" she said throwing the door open and pulling him inside, feeling energetic and angry enough to be bossy right now.

"Really?-I mean, okay." Masamune said smiling as he closed the door behind him before he was jerked onto the bed. Sitting up, he watched as Ritsu furiously took her clothes off, prompting him to do the same until they were both naked as the day they were born.

Ritsu climbed on top of him and grinded on his manhood suddenly, making Masamune groan at her aggressiveness as she kissed him on the lips, allowing her passionate anger to turn her on. Masamune placed his hands on her hips as she continued to grind him before she pushed him to lay on his back while she worked to get herself lubricated.

When she determined that she was ready to take him in, she propped his penis directly below her entrance and slowly sank down onto him, moaning as he filled her. Masamune groaned at the sight of her above him, taking in her pleasure filled face as she sat still on his penis, getting used to the feeling before she started moving.

She started off slowly, trying to figure out the best motion in order to get the right spots. Very soon, she became more confident in her movements as she went up and down, taking him inside her each time she descended.

Ritsu moaned continuously at the feeling of him inside her, planting her hands on his shoulders to keep herself steady as she went down on him. Her breasts hung in front of his face, swinging with her movements as Masamune watched her ride him. Not being one to resist, he took one of her peeks into his mouth and started to suckle, making her mewl at the sensation and increase her movements.

Masamune thrusted up to meet her descents, giving her pleasure as he hugged her to his chest with her face buried in his neck. Ritsu felt herself getting closer to her release as she and Masamune increased their pace, her lips biting onto the juncture between his neck and shoulders to muffle the screams.

Ritsu screamed very loudly into Masamune's flesh when her orgasm hit, making her spasm around him as he followed soon after, emptying himself into her as he groaned with his release.

They panted against each other as they rode out their highs before Ritsu lifted herself off of Masamune, removing herself from his penis as she fell to the side.

Masamune stared up at the ceiling with a dazed expression as his chest rose and fell with his panting breath. "Now that...was fantastic. You should be angry more often." he said, limply turning his head to her as she laughed, "Don't ever try to piss me off, you'll get hurt in the process." she threatened, although she felt very mellow.

"It'll be worth it." Masamune said, not minding at all as he curled his arms around her, feeling exhausted from today's events and from their activity as they drifted off for their afternoon nap.

' _This day may have been the worst for us...but it gets better in the end.'_ Masamune thought to himself as he started to fall asleep, feeling very happy that Ritsu chose him to alleviate her pain and anger on.

He could feel her falling completely in love with him by the day with every conflict that arose for them. ' _No matter what happens Ritsu, I will not let you face the world on your own.'_ he thought to her, making a promise to keep her safe from her Mother as he fell into deep sleep.

* * *

 ** _Got ten reviews from the last chapter, and I'm slap happy! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I didn't want to keep you waiting for sending me your reviews._**

 ** _Your thoughts on this chapter + five reviews = an update_**

 ** _'Til next time_**


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning on Sunday, Ritsu was called out because Aikawa caught the flu and needed someone to deliver a manuscript.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Masamune asked as he sat on the bed, having thrown on some sweat pants when he woke up to her getting dressed for the day.

Ritsu put her coat on begrudgingly, "I already contacted Ichiru to come and pick me up since it's her day off. 'Sides, _you_ need to work on your storyboards, and you can't let your...urges... distract you from your job." she said, blushing lightly as she caught the smirk of a shirtless Masamune getting up and wrapping his arms around her.

"I can't help myself, you're glowing skin calls to me like a moth to a flame." Masamune said, enjoying the blush that burned on her face before he swooped in and kissed her on the lips. She pulled away from his grasp, embarrassed by what he said, "Oh god, never say that again." she said, red in the face as Masamune chuckled.

Ritsu made her way into the kitchen to grab a muffin before making a beeline towards the front door, "I'll see you later." she said as she put her shoes on before putting her hand on the door.

"Ritsu." Masamune's voice stopped her, making her turn around to see him fully dressed walking towards her. Before she could ask, he took her chin and brought her lips to his, kissing her sweetly as she remained frozen on the spot. Pulling away, he smiled at her blush, "Come back safely." Ritsu blushed even more at the sound of his voice before nodding and hastily leaving the apartment.

Masamune stared at the door for a few seconds as he listened to her footsteps fade away before he made his way back to the living room. Going to his couch, where his work bag was located, he took out the storyboards and laid them on the coffee table to work on. Before he could pick up the pen, the doorbell rang.

"Probably forgot something." he said, getting up and walking towards the door, expecting to see Ritsu as he opened the door.

His voice caught in his throat when he saw who was on the other side, "O-Onodera-sama?" he said in surprise when he recognized the older man as Ritsu's Father.

Daisuke nodded in confirmation, "Yes, it's me." he said, looking tired from lack of sleep and from a certain someone.

Masamune blinked as he got over his shock, "If you're looking for Ritsu, she just stepped out. She needed to pick up a manuscript for her coworker." he said, assuming that she was the reason why her Father was here.

"Good, because I needed to talk to you alone." Daisuke said, making Masamune's eyes widen at the implication.

"Is it safe to come in?" Daisuke asked, not wanting to stand any longer from the hellish night he had to endure.

"Uh, sure, come on in." Masamune said, stepping aside to allow him entry before shutting the door behind Daisuke once he was inside. After taking off his shoes, he followed Masamune to the living room where it was mostly tidy save for the storyboards laid out on the coffee table.

"Want me to get you anything? Coffee or tea?" Masamune offered, not really sure how he should act after what happened the day before.

"Coffee. I'm gonna need a lot of it though." Daisuke said, taking a seat in the chair that was close to the couch.

"If you're here to talk about what happened yesterday, Ritsu already told me about her childhood. Well, at least the rundown of what it was like with her Mother." Masamune said from the kitchen counter as he prepared some instant coffee.

Daisuke nodded, "Yes. I would like to apologize for what happened, no one should have to see that. And for that, I'm sorry." he said, being very sincere as Masamune came back with the coffee mug.

Placing the mug in front of Daisuke, he took his seat on the couch right next to the older gentleman. "No, I should be sorry. Your daughter warned me that her Mother wasn't a good person, and I've heard their arguments on the phone. I should've taken her out of that mansion when things started to get bad." he said, the memory of that heated exchange still fresh in his mind.

Daisuke caught the look of regret in the young editor's face, "Yes, you should have." he smiled slightly before adding, "But it was worth it seeing Ritsu stand up to her Mother like that for the first time in her life." he said, very proud of his daughter since he was raised never to strike a woman.

Masamune nodded, replaying that scene in his head, "Yeah, that was probably my favorite part. Although she did predict that she and her Mother would 'duke it out' while we hide in a corner." he added, still astonished by her almost accurate predictions a week prior to yesterday.

Daisuke chuckled, "We probably would, had it gotten to that point." he nodded before sobering up, "Those two never had the best relationship. In fact, there was hardly any when it comes to Sayuri." he said solemnly as he sipped his coffee, having lived with that dreadful woman half his life.

Masamune nodded, "She said that what happened yesterday wasn't the first time she struck Ritsu like that." he said, despising the woman that was supposed to protect her daughter.

"And it may very well be the last. I knew there was something off about Sayuri when I first met her, but I didn't listen to myself." Daisuke said, regretting the biggest decision that almost costed Ritsu's life.

"Onodera-sama, I don't understand, what possessed you to marry that woman if you knew there was something wrong with her." Masamune asked, wanting to know how such a humble man such as Daisuke could have married that witch.

Daisuke stared down, having been ashamed of himself for his folly since he saw Sayuri's true colors. "Takano-san," he started, looking up at the young man before him, "what I'm about to tell you, I have never told anyone before, not even Ritsu." he said, with Masamune nodding in understanding as he listened to the other man closely.

Daisuke began telling his story before he met Sayuri, "I was young; younger than you are right now, when I took over the company. I wasn't prepared at all, my Father died before he could teach me what to do. Growing up, I knew I was expected to take my Father's place as head of Onodera Publishing. But at that time, I felt like I was suffocating from the pressure and no one could see me dying." Daisuke said, the memories of the time that led him to his first meeting with the devil.

"So one night, when I was finally free of my responsibilities for a short while, I went to a high class bar, just to escape my life for a second." He took a deep breath before he continued, "As I drowned away my agony, I was approach by this stunning woman that made me go weak in the knees. Give you a wild guess on who it was." he said bitterly, hating himself for falling for that demon.

"Sayuri." Masamune confirmed, seeing the story unfold as Daisuke continued, "Me being the stressed out drunk moron I was, I got lonely." he sighed, "So we chatted, I told her about my life, how I was raised and how hard it was to run a company fresh off the boat." he paused to take another sip of his coffee, "Then she told me about her life, she said she understood what being fresh off the boat was like when her husband left her with nothing in their divorce. So she had to go into the workforce immediately when she was raised to be a wife and homemaker. You can guess what happened after that." he said, Masamune nodding as he pictured the man falling for temptation.

"Yep, that's right. Multiple shots plus an attractive woman equals a night of bad decisions." Daisuke said, wishing he could forget that night completely.

"And she hung onto you, just like that?" Masamune asked, wondering when and how he saw her true colors.

Daisuke answered, "No, not until a couple months later when she came to me and told me she was pregnant." he paused to collect his thoughts, "The day she sought me out, I saw her for who she truly was. When she told me she was pregnant, she said that I have to marry her. I refused, I told her I'm expected to marry someone else, but I would send her money to support our child and visit. But she wouldn't have it, she threatened to kill my child before she would ever give birth unless I married her." he stayed silent for a second, that day leaving a mark in its wake.

"When she told me I was going to be a Father, I felt joy, I felt a sense of motivation to keep going as head of the company. I wanted so much to know what it was like to have something of my own." he smiled humorlessly, "I loved that child immediately, so much so, that i wanted to be there for it. But my expectations prevented me from doing as Sayuri said until she threatened the life of my child." he frowned, remembering that remorseless look on that woman's face when she was willing to throw his child's life away.

Masamune's eyes widened, the thought of killing your own child in front of the man made him sick to his stomach as Daisuke went on, "I was trapped, I didn't know what to do. I needed to protect my child and give her a chance at life. But that woman...if she did bring her into the world without marrying me, she would still make my child's life a living hell?" he said, that fear being implanted into him when she threatened his child.

"In the end, I agreed to marry her, for Ritsu's sake." Daisuke hung his head, those months during Sayuri's pregnancy weighed heavily on him, "When Ritsu was born, I had hoped that maybe Sayuri would change when she saw her." he shook his head, "But she didn't, she hardly even looked at her, or even held her once in her life." he paused, angry at his heartless wife for being so neglectful towards their daughter.

"Whenever I would come home from work to see Ritsu, I would see bruises on her arms and marks on her cheeks." his hands clenched into fists, having to see his 7-year-old abused like that, "She would always say that she fell, but I knew the truth. I would take any and every chance to work and have my meetings at home, to keep Ritsu in my sight and away from her Mother from then on." he said, remembering how he always kept Ritsu by his side whenever he made phone calls and he would keep his eyes on her from the window as she played while he was holding his meetings.

Masamune could see this man was extremely protective of his daughter when she was little to the point of isolating her from her abusive Mother. "Why didn't you just divorce that woman?" Masamune asked, wanting to know why this man couldn't have taken his daughter and run away from that woman.

"Don't you think I never thought of that before? If this was taken to court and she gained full custody of my daughter, Ritsu wouldn't have made it passed her tenth birthday." Daisuke answered, making Masamune eyes widen in realization, "For my daughter's sake, I chose not to take the risk. I didn't want to lose the only thing that kept me standing on my feet every time I felt like I was about to fall." he said, showing the lengths he had gone through just to keep his daughter alive.

Masamune couldn't help but admire this man for his strong will that he built up for Ritsu. He also felt envious of Ritsu at the fact that she had someone who endured so much to keep her safe. But he could never hate her for suffering that woman.

Masamune smiled as he looked down, "She's really lucky to have you. The fact that you had to deal with that woman for over two decades makes me feel unworthy of her and our unborn baby." he said as he closed his eyes, remembering the lonely days he suffered with ignorant parents, "I never had the love and protectiveness of my parents, so I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing sometimes. I tend to wonder if I'm going to be the Father my baby deserves knowing that I might fail where my parents did in the love department." he said, feeling self-doubt since his parents never taught him anything about love and care.

"I had my doubts too." Daisuke's voice cut through Masamune's thoughts as he looked up at the encouraging eyes of the elder, "But the moment I first held Ritsu in my arms, I knew that no matter what, I would always be there for my daughter." He paused, immersed in the happiest memory that outweighed the bad when he held his daughter for the first time, "I wasn't given instructions on how to care for someone so small. To me, raising a child was a test that only life could give me the answers too." he added with a smile.

"At this point, I think I aced it." he said, making Masamune laugh a little before the older man continued, "So, you never know. But as far as I'm concerned, you're already worthy of being a Father. Not only that, but you are more than worthy to be with my daughter." he said with a proud smile as Masamune's eyes widen in astonishment, "Really?" he asked, not expecting the man to say such things.

Daisuke nodded, still smiling, "Yes. The fact that you resisted the temptation of money for the sake of Ritsu and your baby, shows that you're worthy of Ritsu." he looked down, "I only wished that I had your kind of strength that day."

"Hey, _you_ had to live with that woman for two decades. I couldn't stand to be around her for five minutes." Masamune said, shivering at the memory of being in the same room as that demon.

Daisuke laughed, "Yes, you're probably right. But I don't know if I had more balls or more brains to endure all that." he said, making Masamune chuckle at the joke before he asked the older man, "So what happens now?"

Daisuke sighed before answering, "Well right now, I'm gonna finish this coffee." he joked, holding his mug, "And in an hour, I'm gonna divorce Ritsu's Mother for good." he said, feeling at peace with that thought as Masamune's eyes widen before he continued, "I lived with that woman long enough, she no longer has any leverage to keep the Onodera name. Now that Ritsu is pregnant, Sayuri can no longer control her life with you by her side. Also, I'm filing a restraining order to keep her away from my Grandbaby." his words made Masamune smile knowing that Ritsu will never have to worry about that woman coming after their child.

"This is fantastic, you're really getting rid of her for good." Masamune said, feeling relieved that they will never have to suffer that woman any longer.

Daisuke smiled, "Anything to keep my family safe." he said, drinking the last of his coffee, "Speaking of family, when can I call you my son-in-law and what are you going to name my Grandbaby?" he asked, enjoying the look on Masamune's face when he said that.

Masamune stuttered, not really sure how to respond to that question, "Er, uh, well...I haven't popped the question yet. We just started living together, I don't want to rush her into it, not until she's completely comfortable with me." he said, hoping that answer was satisfactory enough.

Daisuke smiled, "That's good, always patient, I like it. Since you already have my blessing, how about naming my Grandkid 'Daisuke?'" he asked, liking the idea of having a mini-Daisuke but also teasing the young man.

Masamune coughed, feeling a little pressured but answered nonetheless, "We haven't decided on a name yet. We don't know the baby's gender, so it's 50% chance of it being a boy. But I will talk to Ritsu about the name, I don't think she would mind though." he said, just now realizing that they haven't named their unborn baby yet.

Daisuke smiled at his answer, "Thank you." he said before looking at the clock, realizing that he needed to leave soon, "I gotta go, meetings to attend, a doctor's appointment and a wife to divorce." he said, standing up with Masamune and shaking hands with him, "It has been a pleasure talking to you Takano-san."

"Pleasures all mine." Masamune said, having enjoyed his conversation with the older man.

"Good." Daisuke said before he remembered something, "Oh, before I forget. I read some of the work you edited, and I have to say, my wife is dead wrong. I ordered the whole series, if you could believe that." he said, making Masamune give him an incredulous look. "Really?"

Daisuke nodded, "Mmhm, and I'm thinking of taking Ritsu's suggestion in putting in a new Manga Department. Another thing, when my daughter becomes the head of Onodera Publishing, you could become the head of the Manga Department. In case you're interested." Daisuke offered, liking the idea of having a new department in his company.

Masamune didn't know what to say, "Wait, what? I don't know what to say about that."

Daisuke waved it off, "Eh, you don't have to decide right now. I still got a several more years left on me to keep the company going and I want you to spend that time with my daughter and grandchild." he said, giving him years to think about it.

Masamune was tongue tied, he would be working for Ritsu the moment she took over the company, "This is such an honor, but why me?" he asked, wanting to know why he thought of him.

"Well, I didn't pick you because you're the Father of my grandchild." he paused at the look on Masamune's face, "Okay, maybe I did. But mostly because you are able to run a tight ship in Emerald and keep it going through the bad times. That makes you eligible to take the position." he said before adding, "Plus, I thought it'd make you both happy knowing that you are close to each other and can help one another." he said, referring to Ritsu.

Masamune smiled at the thought and nodded, "Thank you, I'll think about it."

Daisuke nodded before bowing in farewell, "And thank you for your time." he said before making his way to the door.

Just then, Ritsu came through the door and froze when she saw her Father inside the apartment, "What the-Dad, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?" she asked, hoping nothing bad has happened since yesterday.

Daisuke smiled reassuringly at his daughter, "Everything's fine. I've had a wonderful talk with your boyfriend. He's a keeper, don't let him slip through your fingers." he said, making Ritsu blush a little before adding, "Now, I gotta run, have meetings to attend." he said kissing her on the forehead and disappearing out the door before she could respond.

Ritsu stood there, clearly confused to what just happened in the ten seconds she walked through the door. Turning to Masamune who had a neutral expression she asked, "What just happened, I was out of the house for thirty minutes." she said incredulously, wonder what she missed while sh was absent.

Masamune smiled at her adorable confused expression before walking towards her and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. This in turn confused her, but she didn't mind the warmth though.

"Um, Takano-san, what's this about?" she asked, not understanding his behavior.

Masamune buried his cheek in her hair, enjoying it's softness, "Nothing, I'm just very glad that you're here." ' _And alive after the years you spent with your Mother.'_ he added mentally as he pulled away, seeing her blush at his words before touching their foreheads together increasing her blush.

Ritsu tried to will away the redness in her face at the intense look in his eyes, "Uh, seriously, what happened while I was gone?" she asked, a little flustered.

Masamune answered by picking her up and carrying her to the couch before sitting with Ritsu in his lap. Once they were comfortably situated on the couch, Masamune told her Father's story, from the moment he became head to when Ritsu was growing up. By the end of the story, Ritsu all but cried for the sake of her Father, feeling herself at fault for being the cause of his miserable marriage.

Masamune held her close, letting her cry it out on his shirt as he gave her words of reassurance, letting her know that it was never her fault. After her tears stopped, he rubbed her back, "You don't have to worry about him any longer Ritsu. He's not gonna live with that woman forever." he said, wanting to give her some good news to cheer her up.

Ritsu pulled away to look him in the eye, "What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes rimmed red from all the crying.

Masamune stroked her cheek and smiled, "He's divorcing your Mother immediately and filing a restraining order to keep her away from our baby." he said, her look confused at first then broke out into a jovial smile, "He said that?" she asked, those words feeling too good to be true.

Masamune smiled and nodded before she threw her arms around him, surprising him as she cried happy tears against his neck, "I'm so glad." she said as Masamune held her, smiling at the relief that settled in the girl.

"There's something else." Masamune said, earning a hum from Ritsu to show she was listening, "Your wants to have a grandson named Daisuke." he said, making Ritsu pull back to look at him before laughing, "Of course he does." she said, feeling happier and weightless as she stayed in Masamune's arms.

Masamune sat there content, not finding it within him to remove her from his person. ' _I'll probably won't get those storyboards done.'_ he thought to himself, not particularly caring at the moment.

* * *

 _ **And thus concludes the Meet the Parents arc. I consider this one the most emotional and heartfelt in the story.**_

 _ **There is more to come, don't worry, I'm not stopping this story anytime soon. Next chapters will have a buttload of humor in them.**_

 _ **Stay tuned.**_


	19. Chapter 19

Over the next three months since Daisuke's visit, things have gone back to normal for Masamune and Ritsu. They both continued their jobs in their respective departments and did their works as editors. But outside of work, they would spend their free time with each other and sometimes with their Emerald friends whenever they have the chance. It also has gotten to that point…

"Absolutely not." Masamune said as they ate their lunch in the break room.

Ritsu glared at him irritably, "It's not your decision, Takano-san. I'm only gonna pop in, see what's keeping Usami-sensei with that manuscript, help him, then leave. I'll be fine by myself." she said, trying to reason with him.

Masamune argued, "You're already showng and slow on your feet." he said, referring to her baby bump that protruded under her maternity clothes. Ever since she started showing, Masamune has gotten a bit more overprotective, in and outside of work, much to Ritsu's dismay.

"And whose fault is that?" Ritsu asked rhetorically, getting excessively pissed at his overprotective nature, "I'll be fine, I've been to the author's house before and I also need the exercise." she said, hating these meaningless arguments based on his paranoia and her stubbornness.

"That's not the point, you shouldn't be on your own, someone could take advantage of you when you least expect it." Masamune argued, not wanting her to be left alone.

Ritsu scoffed at the notion and rubbed her swollen belly, "Hmph, like anyone would go for me. Seriously, who would even think of doing it with an already showing, easily pissed off pregnant woman?" Masamune raised his hand in answer to her question, making her blush before slapping his hand down as Masamune laughed under his breath.

Masamune composed himself, "I still don't like the idea of you going alone, I'll drive you there." he decided firmly rather than offered.

"Not happening, you have to go to a meeting in a half half hour and you can't avoid it since it's your book that you're editing." Ritsu said, refusing to be blamed for having Masamune skip out on another meeting.

"Well this time, I have a very legit reason." Masamune argued, not backing down.

"You're still not coming." Ritsu said, not backing down either as she glared at him.

At that moment, Kisa walked in and spotted Masamune and Ritsu having another one of their spats. Not wanting to miss out on the drama these two entertain her with, she approached their table, her baby bump showing just a little as she walked.

"Hey lovebirds, what's going on this time?" Kisa asked as she took a chair and sat to the side of them.

Ritsu turned to Kisa, "Kisa, good, you're here. Will you tell your boss how ridiculous he's being and that I can handle going out on my own for a few hours without his supervision?" she asked, pointing at Masamune.

Masamune scowled at Kisa, "Will you tell her that it's for her own safety since she's already showing?" he ordered, needing some support.

Kisa sweatdropped, "Um, what's the backstory to this?" she asked, trying to understand the situation.

Ritsu elaborated the story to Kisa, "I'm needed at Usami-sensei's place because he needs help on the final touches for his latest book. I sent Takano-san a text message to give him a heads up and told him that I would be home a little later, but he insisted on accompanying me when he knows he has a meeting to attend." she explained, gesturing to Masamune who sat there silently.

Masamune turned his gaze back to Ritsu, "Once again, it is for your protection." he said before going back to Kisa and basically ordered, "I'm your boss, so help me out here."

Kisa felt like she was being put on the spot, being pressured to take a side between her boss and her friend. "Ooooookay. This is a little hard for me since I just got here. But speaking as a pregnant lady with an overprotective boyfriend, I completely understand why you're hovering over Ritsu. However, you can't just shirk off your duties as chief editor just because Ritsu's stepping out for a little bit." Kisa said, causing Ritsu to smirk triumphantly while Masamune scowled.

Wanting to save herself from whatever consequences her boss give her, she said quickly, "How about this, why don't I go along with her if you're so worried?" she proposed, making his eyes narrow at her in confusion.

"But you're pregnant as well." he said, remembering Yukina's warning to take care of her while she works in his department.

"Look bossy, it's either I take her with me, or I ask one of the males down in Literature to accompany me. Your choice." Ritsu said, giving him an ultimatum, knowing that he would rather let Kisa go with her than some male stranger.

Kisa looked at Ritsu in shock, never had she thought Ritsu to boldly threaten Masamune like that. Masamune's eyes widened at her words before he conceded, "Okay fine, you can bring Kisa. But I expect a call the moment you get there."

"Alright, I will." Ritsu said irritably before she looked at the clock, "We better go now before traffic hits." she said getting up from her seat, gripping the table for balance as she moved her bloated belly away from the table's edge. Masamune quickly appeared at her side to steady her and keep her from falling while Kisa got up with no problem and watched the couple move together in sync.

"Out of curiousity, do you feel any kicking yet?" Kisa couldn't help but ask as they all walked toward the elevator together.

"Not really. I can feel it moving slightly, but it's been very quiet lately. Probably reading in there for all I know." Ritsu answered, making Kisa and Masamune laugh a little at her joke.

"No surprise," Masamune said, "although it's probably saving it's strength to give us hell when it gets out here." his prediction made the girls laugh as the elevator doors opened upon their arrival before they stepped inside to travel to the Shojo floor first before Literature.

"Shall I wait for you at the parking lot?" Ritsu asked Kisa as they rode the elevator.

Before Kisa could answer, Masamune cut in, "You should wait inside the building by the door until Kisa is with you, then you can leave together." the earned him an irritated look from Ritsu, "Safety in numbers." he added, making Ritsu roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Gee, overprotective much?" she asked sarcastically as the elevator dinged before the doors opened.

Masamune answered, "I'm supposed to be, you are after all-"

Ritsu cut him off, "Say it one more time and I'll dig my nails into your happy place." she threatened, making Kisa flinch and scurry out of the elevator before things got hairy.

Masamune raised his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. I just want to keep you two safe." he said, referring to her and their baby before he exited the elevator, Ritsu catching the hurt in his expression as he left.

Ritsu felt a twinge of guilt when she saw that expression, of course he would be a tad more protective at this stage of the pregnancy, but she couldn't help but feel suffocated under the constant worrying. She sighed as she reached her floor before she went about packing her things for Usami's condo.

Ritsu stood outside near the entrance overlooking the parking lot, waiting for Kisa to come out so that they can get to her author's. After five minutes of waiting, Kisa finally joined her and together they drove to Usami-sensei's apartment complex.

"Takano-san has become so irritating lately. Just because I got fat, doesn't mean he should be breathing down my neck for every little thing I do." Ritsu ranted as Kisa drove the car, "I mean, the most help I need lately is getting out of bed and having him tie my shoes for me." she added with a disgruntled expression, finding it embarrassing how restricted her movements are because of her belly.

"Ha! That's nothing compared to what Yukina does to me." Kisa commented, finding her complaints weak, "Does your boyfriend text you every hour to see how you are doing?" she asked, glancing at Ritsu while keeping her eyes on the road.

"He's not my boyfriend, we just live together while casually waiting for our child." Ritsu denied before answering, "And yes he texts me while we're in the same building."

"Well mine texts and emails me _every_ half-hour while I'm at work." she exclaimed, letting out her frustration before explaining her daily life at home, "Oh, and when we're at home, he does _all_ the cooking and cleaning, even the chores that don't require high maintenance."

Ritsu gave her a confused look, "That's a bad thing?" she asked, not understanding why Kisa would be complaining over something like that.

Kisa answered, "He says and I quote, 'No mother of my child will be doing any strenuous work no matter how big or small. Not while I'm around.'" she paused before continuing, "Don't take this the wrong way, it's sweet and all, but it's so irritating when he treats me like fragile goods sometimes." she finished with a huff.

Ritsu let out a whistle, "You have my sympathy Kisa. Takano-san doesn't want me doing basic chores either. He doesn't even let me bend over to retrieve or take a stool to reach for something because _he_ says and I quote, 'I will not have you straining or hurting yourself.' Ugh, he doesn't say it, but I _know_ he thinks I'm clumsy." she groaned, knowing what goes on through Takano's head.

"Not to take sides, but you are kind of a klutz." Kisa commented, feeling Ritsu glare at her. "Though seriously, what else does your baby-daddy irritate you with?" she asked, changing the subject.

Ritsu answered, "Well, he also insists on taking a shower with me because he thinks I'll pass out and hurt myself in the water. But I _know_ it's his basic excuse to see me fat and naked and have sex." she said, blushing slightly as Kisa's eyes widened at the information.

"You too?" Kisa exclaimed, "Yukina does the exact same thing! He even does my shampooing and conditioning and body washing. Hell, he even towel dries me and dresses me like I'm some sort of doll." she ranted, the memory still fresh in her mind.

Ritsu's eyes widened as well, "Seriously? You're joking me, right? I thought you were the older one." she said incredulously as Kisa nodded before adding, "I know, that's the thing, I may be nine years his senior, but I am _not_ a senior citizen yet."

"Geez, you and I have it rough. I know we're pregnant and all, but we're not disabled." Ritsu said as Kisa nodded in agreement.

"What the hell are the good points to our relationships anyway?" Ritsu asked, Kisa put on a contemplative look before answering, "The sex is pretty good."

Ritsu gave her another incredulous look, "You're kidding, right?"

Kisa shrugged, "Hey, after stressful hours at work and a boyfriend who treats me like delicate glass, I have to admit, he does know how to take the edge off when we're having sex." she said uninhibitedly as she stared at the road.

Ritsu's eyebrow twitched, "Seriously?" she said, staring at the older woman as though she was nuts.

"Oh come on. Don't tell me Takano-san is lousy in bed." Kisa said, making Ritsu blush and turn away, "No comment."

There was a five second pause before Ritsu relented, "Okay, the sex is really good." she mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed for saying such a thing as Kisa nodded, "Agreed."

"Thanks for letting me vent." Ritsu said, feeling very much relieved that she got it off her chest.

"No problem." Kisa said as they pulled up to the apartment complex where the author lives, "And here we are." she said, parking the car before the two of them got out of the car and made their way into the building.

"By the way Kisa, when you meet Misaki-chan, don't be surprised." Ritsu advised as they rode the elevator leading up to the condo.

"Why?" Kisa asked, wondering why she should be surprised.

"You'll know when you meet her." was all Ritsu said before the elevators opened and they walked up to the door where the author lives. Ritsu buzzed the door, "Usami-sensei, it's Ritsu from Marukawa Publishing."

Not a moment later, the door opened to reveal a young woman with a tan complexion, brown hair and green eyes. "Hello Onodera-san, it's good to see you, come on in." she said with a smile as she stepped aside to let the two women in.

Ritsu smiled, "Hello Misaki-chan." she greeted before introducing Kisa to Misaki, "By the way, this is Kisa-san, she's one of my colleagues."

Kisa bowed to Misaki in greeting as the latter returned it, "Nice to meet you." she said before taking notice of Misaki's belly.

"Huh, so that's what you meant." Kisa said, realizing that Misaki is another pregnant woman like themselves.

Misaki tilted her head in confusion, "I'm sorry?"

"Nevermind." Ritsu said before asking, "Is Usami-sensei here?"

Misaki shook her head, "I'm sorry, he just stepped out. I don't think he'll be back for another hour." she answered, making Ritsu sigh, "Why am I not surprised."

"Why don't you two take a seat, I'll get some refreshments." Misaki offered, feeling happy for some company before walking into the kitchen.

"Thanks." Ritsu said as she and Kisa took their seats on one of the couches in the living room, "Something tells me we're gonna be here awhile." Ritsu said as she got comfortable in her spot.

* * *

 _ **I'm sorry, I know it's been a while since I updated. My mind has been everywhere with my stories lately and it was hard to put it back on track. My introduction of Masaki was a little weak, but it was the best I could come up with.**_

 _ **Until then, I hope you liked this little comeback. The next one might take a while, but hopefully some inspiration will hit me hard enough to give me a concussion and bleed an update out of my skull.**_

 _ **Leave me a review and tell me what your thoughts are on this chapter.**_

 _ **Thank you.**_


	20. Chapter 20

Misaki set down the beverages in front of Kisa and Ritsu, "Here you go. I'm really sorry about Usagi-san not being here, he always leaves at the most inappropriate time whenever the deadline is near." Misaki said, apologizing for Akihiko's absence as she took a seat across from them.

"It's fine, I should be getting used to it by now." Ritsu said, as she took a sip from her beverage, "So how are things, I haven't seen you around Marukawa lately."

Misaki answered, "Everything is fine, for now. Actually, Usagi-san doesn't want me going into work since I'm already showing. He's paranoid, thinks I'll get hurt or taken advantage of by some pervert." she said, sighing in annoyance as she rubbed her swollen belly.

"You too? Takano-san refused to let me come here alone. Says I'm a target for stalkers." Ritsu said, feeling a sense of deja vu with this woman.

This peeked Misaki's interest, "Seriously? He can't be as bad as Usagi." she said, finding it hard to believe that there was another like Usagi.

Kisa answered for Ritsu, "No, it's true, witnessed their little lover's spat before we came here. The boss wanted to accompany her here, but he had a meeting. So I came along instead." she said, summarizing what happened earlier to Misaki whose eyes widened, "You've gotta be kidding me."

Ritsu sighed, "No, it's true. Kisa's also going through the 'paranoid-overprotective-baby-daddy-phase' as well. She's also pregnant." she said, gesturing to the older woman beside her.

"Another person who understands my suffering. Thank you." Misaki said, as though she was praising God, making Ritsu and Kisa smile.

Kisa then asked, "How far along are you?"

"About four months. You?"

"Three. I can't believe I'm sitting in _the_ Usami-sensei's condo. Ri-chan always said that he was a slob when it comes to his work but it looks so clean." Kisa said in appreciation as her eyes wandered around the room.

"Don't look inside his office, trust me." Misaki said, shivering when she saw the state his work area was in this morning when she was sure it was spotless the day before.

"It's a dump in there again?" Ritsu asked incredulously, knowing that Misaki put her blood, sweat and tears into cleaning. Especially sweat and tears.

Misaki nodded, "While it takes me an hour to clean his office, it takes him five minutes. It's hell trying to find things now with the state it's in at the moment." she couldn't help saying, an air of hopelessness hanging over her head.

Kisa and Ritsu sweatdropped at the poor woman who has to put up with her baby daddy's flaw. "Okay Misaki-chan, no offence, but he is without a doubt the laziest authors on the planet." Ritsu couldn't help but say, knowing all too well the strain it is putting on her friend.

"None taken, despite his flaws, I love him." She smiled, staring in thought, "He's been very good to me and is working very hard to be here when the baby comes. Plus, after years of keeping him alive, I'd like to say that I've gained plenty of experience to take care of this child." Misaki added, stroking her belly, anticipating the day when her child comes into the world.

Ritsu nodded in agreement, having witnessed the couple's moments since becoming Usami-sensei's editor again, "Yep, lazy but romantic." she said before the doorbell rang again, catching their attention. Misaki made a move to get up, but Kisa beat her to it, "I got it." she said as she stood up and made a beeline to the door.

Upon opening the door, she was met with two women, yet was surprised to see a familiar face in the younger one, "Chiaki?" she exclaimed upon recognition.

Blue eyes widened at the sight of her boyfriend's coworker standing before her, "Kisa-san, what are you doing here?" she asked, clearly surprised to see the older, yet young looking woman in front of her.

"Boss wanted me to accompany Ri-chan here." Kisa said, stepping aside to show Ritsu and Misaki sitting on the couches with the former waving at the mangaka, "Hi Chi-chan." she greeted, using her nickname that Chiaki told her to use.

Misaki spotted the other woman standing a little behind Chiaki, "Kamijou-sensei?" she said, recognizing her former university professor who was far along in her pregnancy herself.

The older woman nodded at the younger woman in greeting, "Misaki-san." she replied before asking Kisa, "May we come in?"

Kisa nodded as she gestured for the two women to enter the condo, "Of course, come on in." she said as Chiaki and Hikari entered through the door.

"What can I do for you two?" Misaki asked, slowly getting up from her spot on the couch, but Hikari stopped her, "Stay in your seat Misaki-san, I just came here to have my books returned to me. Where is he?" Hikari asked, getting straight to business as her eyes searched for the absent author.

"MIA, I came here for that nonexistent jerk as well. By the way, I'm Ritsu and that's Kisa." Ritsu introduced herself and her co-worker to Hikari who returned the introduction, "Hikari Kamijou."

The university professor then growled under her breath, "So he's gone again? I told him that I was coming over today to have _my_ books back. First Miyagi's hormonal brat, then this. I am not in the mood to deal with his shit today." Hikari ranted, her mood swings being much harder to control as her aching feet strolled over to the seat next to Ritsu.

"You and me both." Ritsu nodded in agreement as Chiaki sat beside Misaki and Kisa sat on the other side of Ritsu.

Chiaki rummaged through her bag before handing the book to Misaki, "Sorry it took so long to return it, things have been getting in the way lately." she said, apologizing for the late return of their shared favorite manga series, _The Kan._

Misaki took the book before waving off her apology, "Don't worry, I understand. You're a pregnant artist, so of course you're gonna be busy." she said, understanding what the young artist was going through.

Turning to the professor, Misaki asked, "One question, how do you two know each other?" she wondered, shifting her eyes between the artist and the professor.

"We live next door to each other. Well actually she and her boyfriend live next door in Tori's apartment building." Chiaki answered, smiling at Hikari who adjusted in her seat.

"So you two talk to each other often?" Misaki asked, turning back to Hikari who shrugged, "Only when she and I have free time. I've already taken maternity leave from the university, so I've got more free time to catch up and socialize. Plus, my boyfriend's a pediatrician, so he's Chiaki's consultant and Hatori's drinking buddy...still not sure how that part happened." Hikari added, placing a hand to her chin, trying to remember how those two ended up becoming drinking buddies.

The four women laughed at the idea of the serious editor getting drunk with a pediatrician. "I'd pay big money to see Hatori inebriated." Kisa said, trying to control her laughter as everyone else either smiled or laughed.

"Nope, he has a strong alcohol tolerance." Chiaki said, smiling as she thought of her boyfriend.

"You know, you're lucky to live next door to a pediatrician, less time to go to the hospital." Misaki said, feeling at ease with her friend.

Chiaki nodded in agreement, "Yep. Although," she laughed as she scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, "when we first met, Tori didn't seem to like him very much."

"How come?" Ritsu asked, not pegging Hatori the time of guy to dislike anyone in general.

"Because our new neighbor is so freakishly tall." Chiaki said, laughing at the memory of her boyfriend looking so insecure when standing next to the giant.

"He's taller than Hatori-san?" Kisa asked incredulously since her co-worker is around the same height as her boyfriend.

Hikari nodded, "Yep, taller than the average Japanese man. However, what he's achieved in height, he lacks a certain amount of... _restraint._ " she said, turning her head to hide the blush.

"You too?" the four girls asked in unison, making the eldest pregnant woman turn to them in surprise for their reaction.

Hikari blushed even more before she recounted what happened one time, "Well, there was this one time while I was making dinner when he decided to come home early. So there I was, in the kitchen, in front of the stove, then all of a sudden, the big oaf snuck up behind me and asked if he could have me for dinner instead. Here's how I responded, I whacked him in the head with a wooden spoon." Hikari finished, holding an imaginary kitchen utensil and making a chopping motion for emphasis.

"Wait a minute hold on," Ritsu stopped Hikari when she got a sense of deja vu, "I heard this story before, is Nowaki Kusama your boyfriend?" she asked, locking eyes with Hikari whose eyes widened, "How did you meet him?"

Ritsu answered, "My doctor, Ichiru Kurosaki introduced him to me as my consultant should Ichiru not be available." she said, watching as Hikari's and Misaki's eyes widened at the name, "You know Dr. Kurosaki?" the two women exclaimed, having interacted with that eccentric woman.

Ritsu looked between the women, "Yeah, so do Chiaki and Kisa-san." she added, gesturing to the other two women.

Hikari held her head, as though she was developing a headache, "Geez, that woman's everywhere in this small world." she said, sounding tired and irritated.

"You don't like Dr. Kurosaki?" Misaki asked, not understanding why Hikari would dislike Ichiru.

"Oh no, I like her plenty, it's just that this world is too small right now." Hikari said, gesturing to all the women present and having a baby.

"She has a point." Kisa said in agreement, seeing how they are all patients under that doctor.

"However," Hikari started, gaining all their attention, "she _is_ the reason why I got pregnant. No, we did NOT have a three way!" she exclaimed, answering their unsaid question, making them close their mouths in fear as the woman continued, "I thought she was having an affair with Nowaki, the two of them were sneaking around until I got home one night and saw what he did to our apartment. You see, he turned our apartment into a romantic relaxing massage room, give you a wild guess what happened afterwards." Hikari summarized, relishing in their reactions.

"How is you getting pregnant Ichiru's fault?" Ritsu asked, not understanding how her doctor was involved in Hikari's pregnancy.

"Turns out she wrote a book and gave it to Nowaki, it gave him ideas on what to do in the bedroom. It's titled _How to be a Romantic Lover to Your Woman,_ or was it _Bedroom Improvements for Dummies?_ " Hikari answered, having a hard time remembering the title of that book she refuses to read.

Ritsu couldn't fight the smile off her face, "That's Ichiru for you." she laughed, causing everyone to join her, "I can't believe she wrote that kind of book, though I shouldn't be surprised." Ritsu added, thinking about her doctor friend fondly.

"How did you find out about the book, did he tell you about that?" Kisa asked, wanting to hear more of this story.

Hikari shook her head, "Not immediately, the next day, Nowaki forgot to bring a folder with him to work so I brought it over to the hospital. I found Nowaki talking to Ichiru and she asked if her idea worked and if I was in a much better mood. I don't remember the rest of that conversation, but I vaguely remember her handing him the book and saying, 'Go get her.' Next thing I knew..." Hikari trailed off with a blush staining her cheeks, "...nevermind."

Kisa smiled at Hikari, "Don't worry, we understand. Me especially, I was quite adventurous before meeting Kou." she said, smiling yet fidgeting, feeling a little shy all of a sudden, "But with Kou, let's just say his youth gives him more energy to go longer than me and I end up falling asleep." she said, still feeling shameful for that one time when she fell asleep during their love making.

"At least you didn't fall asleep in the shower." Ritsu mumbled, but everyone heard her, "What!" they responded in surprise before she quickly explained, "It wasn't me who fell asleep, it was Takano!" she said, earning sounds of 'Oh' all around.

"Falling asleep in the shower; that sounds dangerous." Misaki said, her mind wandering to that incident where Akihiko sleep-fucked that one time, but didn't dare say it to the girls, otherwise, she'll die of shame.

"By the way Misaki, when do you suppose Akihiko will be back?" Hikari asked, remembering her reason for coming here in the first place.

Misaki looked up at the clock and realized that 2 hours have passed since Akihiko went out, "He said he was going to get cigarettes and is always back in 36 minutes." she said, having lived with him long enough to know his daily habits.

"Taking his sweet time, the son of a bitch." Hikari couldn't help say as she thought of her precious books.

"I'd help you get your books, but unfortunately, his office..." Misaki trailed off, the state of the once spotless office turned war zone still fresh in her mind.

"I get it. One of these days, he's gonna die in his own mess." Hikari said, sympathizing with the young woman who has the misfortune in dealing with Akihiko's habits.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he lives passed his fifties." Misaki said assuredly, knowing that her Usagi would be lost without her.

"I hope so in your condition. As successful as he is in writing, he can support you financially. However, I still have my doubts in regards to how he takes care of you personally if he cannot keep himself alive without relying on someone else." Hikari said, having known Misaki long enough to develop an elder sister-like concern for the young woman.

Misaki smiled, rubbing her baby bump before closing her eyes for a moment, "I understand your concern. At first, I was afraid of how he would handle having a baby around. But these past months, he's constantly worried about me and the baby to the point where he's afraid to leave my side." she paused to look at her guests, "He's put in a lot of effort getting read for when our child arrives. Yet," she looked down with a guilty expression, "I feel as though I've forced him into this situation where he has to change his ways for my sake." she added, guilt evident in her voice.

Chiaki wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulder and gave her a firm hug, "Don't think like that Misaki. This is something every parent goes through when they're expecting." she said, offering Misaki support, "It's okay to feel this way. Hell, even I felt like I was pushing Tori with this pregnancy since I can't keep myself together when deadlines come near. But he's there for me because he loves me just as Akihiko loves you." she finished earning words of agreement and encouragement from the rest of the girls.

Misaki smiled as tears came to her eyes, which she quickly wiped away, "Thank you Chiaki, and everyone else. This pregnancy has become a milestone for me and Usagi-san." she said, smiling at everyone present.

"You're not the only one, though personally, I would prefer my kid to vacate the premises and give me back my figure." Hikari couldn't help but say, already missing her waistline as everyone laughed, sympathizing with the eldest woman.

"Mine too." Ritsu said, rubbing her belly as she leaned back in her seat, mainly missing her ability to sleep on her stomach.

Kisa stopped laughing as, "Oh crap, I'm going to have stretch marks after this. Crap." she said as she held her head down in mock dread over her inevitable bloating.

"Save that dread for when your water breaks." Hikari began, "The worst to come with pregnancy is giving birth. Going in was the easy part, but coming out...I'm gonna break Nowaki's hand when that time comes." she said, a cloud of demonic energy hanging over her head at the thought of when she will have to endure that pain.

"They don't call you Kamijou the Devil for nothing." Misaki said as everyone shrunk away from Hikari in fear.

"She does have a point though, our baby-daddies will have to suffer with us when our babies start coming into the world." Ritsu said, scooting away from the demonic woman who continued to grumble to herself.

"Aside from that, us hanging out together is rather fun, feels like a support group. We should do this more often, schedule playdates for when our kids come. That would be cute!" Chiaki gushed at the thought of their children playing together on the rug.

Kisa nodded at the idea, "Yeah, that's a good idea. Do you think the guys would like it?"

Misaki shrugged before taking out her phone, "We'll tell them when we see them, but first, let me call Usagi-san, he should be home by now." she said sa she held her phone to her ear. But what surprised the girls was a cell phone ringing outside the condo. Misaki recognized that ringtone before getting to her feet and waddling to the door.

Upon opening it, five men fell on top of each other in a heap as they groaned upon impact as they struggled to disentangle from each other. The girls exclaimed when they recognized their faces, "What the hell!"

Misaki was the first one to ask, "Usagi-san, when did you come back?"

Akihiko crawled away from the heap, "About fifteen minutes ago, I didn't want to interrupt your girl's time." he said, standing up and brushing himself off.

"What about them?" Misaki asked, turning her attention to the rest of the men.

"Chiaki-sensei forgot her phone, so Hatori-san asked me to drive him here." Nowaki explained as he helped the latter to his feet before making a beeline towards his Hikari who blushed as the giant sat beside her and started cuddling her, missing her apparently.

The blue eyed woman checked her bag and saw that her phone wasn't with her at all, "Crap. Sorry Tori." she apologized, feeling foolish for leaving behind the only object that her boyfriend entrusts her with.

Hatori didn't say a word, he merely made his way over to Chiaki and gave her a kiss, unmindful to the people present, before pulling away, "I'm just glad you're alright." he said, feeling extremely relieved now that his love was in his sights as said love blushed heavily.

"What are you doing here Kou?" Kisa question her boyfriend who looked more than relieved to see her, "You weren't answering your calls, so I hitched a ride with Takano-san." he explained, having gone over frightening scenarios that involve his Kisa.

"Your calls?" Kisa said in confusion before pulling out her phone. She blushed in embarrassment, "Battery's dead." was all she said before Kou wrapped his arms around her while she buried her face in her chest to hide her face.

Masamune set his sights on Ritsu before standing behind the couch she was sitting in before leaning down to wrap his arms around her from behind, "You didn't give me a phone call." Masamune whispered in her ear, making Ritsu shiver before she suppressed it, "Sorry, I forgot." she said before Masamune kissed her neck, much to her embarrassment.

Misaki tore her eyes away from the couples to address Akihiko, "How much of our conversation did you hear?" she asked, feeling annoyed at her lover.

"Around the part where Hikari's boyfriend got that book from Kurosaki." Akihiko answered nonchalant as Hikari turned to glare at the author, "Oh yeah, that reminds me, I want my books back." she demanded from her spot on the couch as Nowaki held her.

"I'd also like to have that manuscript please?" Ritsu chimed in, raising her right hand as her left tried to pry Masamune's off.

"Yeah yeah, stay right there." Akihiko said as he strolled to his office in a relaxed manner while Misaki stood there blushing, knowing that he must've heard what she said about the two of them.

Misaki was brought out of her thought when Kou said, "So all five of you are becoming a pregnancy support group? That's adorable." he said, liking the idea as well.

Hikari leaned into Nowaki comfortable, "Actually, I believe there will be six members." she paused at the looks she received, "My colleague's girlfriend is having a difficult time with her pregnancy. Hopefully I'll convince her to join for her sake."

"My Hikari, so nice." Nowaki said with his signature smile as Hikari turned away, "Shut up. All of us are Kurosaki's patients so we're all going to be stuck together, we might as well help each other throughout this pregnancy." she said as Akihiko came back with her precious books and Ritsu's manuscripts.

"So that strange woman is everyone's doctor? Huh, I know she's great at her job, especially when it comes to all you girls, but she just gives me a hard time whenever she feels like it." Akihiko said, crossing his arms after handing the two ladies their items. His previous encounter with Kurosaki damaged some of his pride when she tricked him into saying how fucking stupid he was when he told her her book was useless since he was already an expert in bed.

"You and me both." Masamune said in agreement, knowing what the author had to deal with when it comes to that crazy yet endearing woman.

"She's not that bad." Nowaki stated, "I know she's a little eccentric, but she really is one of the best doctors at the hospital." he said, defending his senpai.

"Remind me again, how did you two meet exactly?" Hikari asked as Misaki retook her seat on her spot on the couch.

Nowaki chuckled, "Well, she's my senpai and was the one who showed me the ropes at the hospital. But our first meeting was quite funny; when I introduced myself to her, she asked which beanstalk I fell down from." he said, smiling as everyone laughed before he continued, "I told her the one from Sakura Park when I went to retrieve my rocket and met the girl of my dreams." Hikari blushed as everyone either laughed or went awe at the couple.

"Ichiru would _definitely_ ask something like that." Ritsu said, still laughing as she picture Ichiru asking such a question.

* * *

Ichiru sneezed from her side of the bed, "Who's talking about me?" she sniffed as the man beside her asked from under the covers as he adjusted his glasses and gave her a questioning look. He found it odd of this woman to ask such a question after an hour of intimacy.

"Pardon?" he asked as Ichiru laughed a little, "I talk to so many people these days, quite popular." she said as she stretched her back, cracking her joints and easing the soreness out of her body. Turning to her bedmate, "Shall we continue?" she asked as the man gave a small smile, which was all she needed before she climbed on top of him.

* * *

"Thanks for the manuscript Usami-sensei." Ritsu said as she packed her manuscript into her bag before Masamune helped her stand up and led her to the door where everyone else was gathered.

"Your welcome, just remember to take it easy." Akihiko said, standing behind Misaki who waved everyone goodbye, "Thanks for coming, can't wait to do this again."

After multiple farewells, the sole residents of the condo were finally alone. Misaki sighed before Akihiko wrapped his arms around her, a sly smile gracing his lips as Misaki blushed, "Now, where were we?" he said, making Misaki's heart race, knowing what will happen next, "Oh crap." was all she said before her Usagi carried her upstairs.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

 _ **It has been months since my last update, and I am SO SORRY! Loss of inspiration and had no time to write lately. I'll be starting college soon, so I won't have any time for writing. Don't worry, I already have an ending in mind for this story, so I'm not giving it up.**_

 _ **If you're wondering who the man Ichiro was with... well that's a mystery. I've already picked out who to pair her up with. Guess at your leisure, her story will be separate from this one, but will coincide with this story's events.**_

 _ **Also, I'm still debating how to add Haitani into the mix. But he WILL play his part in this story.**_

 _ **Until then, leave me a review if this chapter made you happier in the sad times of summer ending.**_


	21. Chapter 21

Extra

It was another day at Marukawa where Ritsu and Masamune worked in their respective departments. However, it was definitely not a good day for the Literature Department with a pregnant moody woman ready to kill if you so much as breathe on her.

While Masamune was on his break in the lunchroom, a weary Aikawa trudged by him, making him turn to her in confusion as she took a seat at one of the tables and slumped forward. Masamune sweatdropped before he decided to approach her with coffee in hand, "Usami-sensei giving you trouble again?"

To his surprise, Aikawa shook her head, "It is at this moment that Usami-sensei is a lesser evil than what the mother of your child has become." she said, looking like she went through hell.

Masamune blinked, "Onodera?" Aikawa nodded her head against the table, not having the strength to move.

"What did she do to you?" Masamune asked, wondering what Ritsu had done to scare Aikawa so much.

"She didn't do anything to me, she just scares the living shit out of me. She's evil-incarnate." Aikawa said, an air of fear hanging over her head like a cloud.

Masamune sweatdropped, feeling even more confused and baffled at his Ritsu becoming evil. He was silent for a moment before setting his coffee in front of Aikawa, "For you." he said before walking away, leaving the ginger woman alone.

Masamune walked through the halls of the building after stepping off the elevator, his destination, the Literature Department. As he got closer, he heard a woman yelling, he knew that voice anywhere.

Masamune peeked his head into the department and saw Ritsu at her station looking extremely pissed as she held the phone, "I don't care if your back is hurting, if your hands can touch the computer, then you can still write, your deadline is in two days...No, we cannot extend the deadline anymore than we can...Do I SOUND like I'm kidding...Okay, listen carefully, and paint this picture in your head, the editor you are currently talking to needs more sleep than you because VERY pregnant, the mood swing symptoms are manageable, but when she doesn't get ENOUGH sleep, she wakes up the next morning to find out she murdered her pillow. Who do you think my next victims are going to be, hmm?" Ritsu said in a sickening sweet voice that sent fear down Masamune's spine.

Ritsu then smiled, "Thank you, I'm glad we understand each other, just put a heating pad on your back and get crackin', otherwise, someone will be snapping." she said, subtly threatening her author, "Thank you, I expect your manuscript to come in early." she hung up as Masamune pulled his head back and took deep breaths, finally understanding why Aikawa was so afraid of Ritsu.

"You're Onodera's boyfriend, right?" Masamune turned his head to face an employee he never met before as he nodded.

The newcomer sighed in relief before peeking into the department to see Ritsu furiously typing away at her computer, making said newcomer pull himself away from the entrance before dragging Masamune around the corner. Once they were a good distance from the Literature Department, the employee introduced himself as Saito before putting his hands together in prayer, "You have to help us, your girlfriend is scaring everyone, in and out of the department." she begged, having almost become a victim at Ritsu's mercy.

"She was fine when we got up this morning." Masamune said, recalling how well rested Ritsu was when she woke up.

"She started becoming demonic around noon. Please Takano-san, you're the one who can handle her and maybe ease her moods, I don't think our nerves can take anymore. Help us." Saito begged, bowing his head to Masamune who sighed, deciding to take pity on this poor unfortunate soul, "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

Saito had tears in his eyes, "Thank you!"

' _What exactly did Ritsu do to this guy?'_ Masamune thought to himself as Saito started bowing as though he was at an alter. "Aside from her screaming and terrifying everyone, what else have you noticed?" Masamune asked, wanting to know how he can help his girl.

Saito placed a hand on his chin as he searched his memory that would cause Ritsu to be like this, "Well I know she's pregnant, and recently, she has taken to sitting at her desk barefoot." he said, Masamune's eyes widening when it took him a millisecond to figure out how to solve this.

"I know how to fix this, I'll be back." Masamune said as he turned on his heel and rushed to a certain part of the building, leaving Saito confused.

Ritsu sighed as she tied her shoelaces loosely before leaving her desk to eat her lunch that Masamune prepared for her this morning. Her feet took her to the room where Masamune revealed himself to be her ex, a nostalgic feeling touching her as she sat on the couch and leaned back before opening her lunch box.

Before long, she finished the last of her lunch before packing it away to stand up. "Onodera, sit back down." Ritsu turned her head to see Masamune panting as he carried a plastic bag in his hand, looked like he ran around the building to look for her.

"Excuse me?" Ritsu said as Masamune approached her, "Just sit down." he said, not wanting to argue with her as she followed his order. What surprised her was Masamune kneeling in front of her as he took out a pair of Tinkle Bunny house slippers. "What the hell are those?" Ritsu asked, eyeing the slippers in distaste as Masamune untied her shoes.

"I know you have your mood swings, but they're not supposed to be this bad. You're scaring your co-workers, and many authors because of it. So I got these from the Marakawa Gift Shop, hopefully this will help." Masamune said, fully concentrating on removing her shoes before replacing them with the Tinkle slippers.

"I'm fine, it was just a bunch of stupid authors who refuse to meet their deadlines." Ritsu said, glaring at the slippers before reaching down to take her shoes back, but Masamune snatched them away before she could touch them.

Ritsu glared at Masamune, "Takano-san, I can't walk around Marakawa in these-these things, they're so...white and ugly," she leapt to her feet to get her shoes back, but slowed when she felt how nice the slippers feel on her feet as she stepped about, "...and they're so softy and...so comfortable. Masa-kun, where were you hiding these?" Ritsu said, looking at Masamune in confusion, relief and gratefulness as her aching feet relaxed into the cushions of the slippers.

"Thank you for going shopping for me, thank you for worrying about my feet, and for making me lunch without asking me. Such a good man, Masa-kun. Thank you." Ritsu couldn't help but say, before reaching up to kiss him on the lips for a moment before leaning her head on his chest. She was in a much better mood now as Masamune's gift and gesture nearly brought her to tears.

Masamune patted her back, clearly surprised by how she took his gift before leading her out of the room, her shoes in his hand. "Wow, I didn't expect to be so nice." Masamune said, his arm still around Ritsu who leaned her head back to look at him in confusion, "Why are you so surprised?"

Masamune stopped in the middle of the hall to stand directly in front of Ritsu, "Now please don't go all Onodera on me when I say say this. Is it possible, that you become scary, from time to time, is because your feet..." he gestured to her feet in discomfort, hating the thought of his girl being in agony because of her pregnancy symptom, "...can't handle being in regular shoes?"

Ritsu was silent before she looked down at her feet, where the left one tapped its toe inside the slippers, before looking back up at Masamune, "Maybe." she said, feeling like a little girl who was afraid to admit something.

"Can you get me a couple more, maybe they have purple?" she hopefully asked as they continued walking with Masamune's arm around her, "Whatever you want, Ritsu." he said, dangling Ritsu's now uncomfortable shoes in his other hand.

* * *

 _ **This one was stashed away in the shits and giggles part of my brain. Been wanting to put this one on here for quite some time. Thought it would be cute and sweet.**_

 _ **This story had the most views this month, so I decided to give you guys another as an apology for making you wait for months.**_

 _ **Tell me what you think of this chapter. Reviews motivate me to keep writing this story.**_

 _ **Next one will feature their argument on living arrangements.**_


	22. Chapter 22

Ritsu was mad at Masamune, refusing to talk to him even as he tried to start a conversation during the car ride to their work.

"Come on Ritsu, I thought this would make you happy." Masamune tried again, trying to resolve this issue as they got closer to Marukawa.

"Yes, and how thrilled I was when you made a decision without asking me." Ritsu said sarcastically with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Ritsu-" Masamune started, but Ritsu interrupted, "We'll talk after work, I'm too pissed at you right now." she said as they pulled in the parking lot before Ritsu wretched open the car door and marched towards the building in her purple Tinkle slippers.

Masamune sighed as he rested his forehead on the steering wheel, "Moron." he said, feeling pissed at himself for causing a conflict like this. He stayed like that for a few moments before leaving the car and going into the building to start the day at his department.

Throughout the day, Masamune dealt with authors and the printers as he usually did, only worse. Everyone on the floor was even more afraid to approach the Emerald Department, while the editors _in_ Emerald had the misfortune of dealing with an extremely pissed Takano.

Imagine everyone's relief when the editor-in-chief went to the break room for lunch where he lit a cigarette in a smoke designated area. He leaned against the wall, his mind wandering to Ritsu, trying to figure out how to approach their latest conflict and he can resolve it.

"You look like you're having the time of your life." A voice broke Masamune out of his thoughts, turning his head to see his college friend, Yokozawa coming to stand on the other side of the ash tray.

"How's the domestic life?" Yokozawa asked, lighting a cigarette before taking a drag, "You've been raising hell in the department, but at least it not as bad as Onodera before she started where those slippers since last month." he stated, staring at his friend before puffing out a cloud of smoke.

Masamune blew out smoke, "Ritsu's mad at me." was all he said, unable to meet Yokozawa's eyes.

"That's new." Yokozawa scoffed, seeing how Marukawa's voted number one couple argue over the strangest things when they're alone with each other.

"This one's different, this is the first real fight we had since living together." Masamune said, his eyes downcast.

Yokozawa observed the editor with curious eyes, "'First real fight,' huh?" he paused to take a drag of his cigarette, "It's been five months since you two started living together, and she's what, 6 months into her pregnancy?"

"7 months." Masamune corrected, blowing out another puff of smoke.

Yokozawa continued, "So obviously the two of you would soon be facing problems at home at some point, hormonal changes and confined living spaces can do that to you."

"Hormonal changes are a piece of cake, it's the living space that has become the main problem at this point." Masamune said, pressing his cigarette into the ash tray.

"You didn't call her fat did you? Because that would be the stupidest thing you could say to a pregnant woman." Yokozawa said, smirking at the thought of his friend saying something like that and getting punched for it.

Masamune turned to Yokozawa, "I said she was beautifully swollen, and she took it quite nicely. But no, that's not the reason why she's mad at me." he said before facing the wall again and sighed, "It's my fault in the first place. I was looking at houses behind her back and I already decided on one with asking her." he confessed, feeling like a complete idiot at this point.

Yokozawa's eyes widened, "That's even more stupid than calling her fat." he said, watching as Masamune crossed his arms, looking like a kicked puppy, which is pretty rare considering his personality.

"I thought I was doing something nice for her and our child. When I saw the inside of the house I thought it was perfect, and affordable with my salary alone. It has a master bedroom with a jacuzzi tub, two bedrooms if we have more kids, an office area where we can work, and it has a backyard. It's a little farther from Marukawa, but I believe it's an ideal house for us." Masamune explained, having gone to the house in person and inspected every inch of the property to make sure it was perfect for them.

"Is that what you told her?" Yokozawa asked, feeling a little envious when he mentioned the jacuzzi tub.

"Not really, I told her that I already found us a place to live and that she no longer had to worry about finding a place for us to raise our kid." Masamune summarized, remembering the look of fury on Ritsu's face when he told her.

"What happened next?" Yokozawa asked, seeing the scene unfold in his head.

"She glared at me and said that I was a jerk who thinks he's the boss at home when I should've discussed this with her. She's given me the silent treatment since we left the apartment." Masamune answered, feeling hurt by his girl for trying to do something nice.

Yokozawa saw silent as he comprehended Masamune's dilemma, "From what I got out of this, is that you two are lacking in communication." he said, making Masamune turn to him before he continued, "Try to see it from her point of view, seeing how mad she is, she fully expects the two of you to work as a team, not only for your kid, but also as partners. Remember, when you're both at work, you are the boss in your department while Ritsu works under another. But at home, you are each other's equal, that means you have to listen to the other's problems and talk it out rather than go about things by yourself." Yokozawa said, giving Masamune the first piece of advice since he got together with Senna Kirishima.

Masamune's eyes widened at this valuable piece of advice, but what stood out to him was about Ritsu expecting them to work together in their relationship. But with him going behind her back like this and making decisions without her say so, she lost some of that trust she had in him.

Masamune smiled and nodded at his friend, "Thanks Yokozawa. Kirishima-san whooped you into shape, didn't she?" he asked, recalling how his friend had an even bigger stick up his ass before Kirishima blackmailed him into being her pet. Metaphorically speaking.

Yokozawa smiled, "Yeah, the big difference between your relationship and mine, is that she's the pants in the family at home." he said, describing his co-worker/girlfriend as Masamune chuckled, having already been told that Kirishima has a daughter of her own and how Yokozawa has taken on the Father role for her little girl.

Masamune's phone vibrated in his pocket where he quickly fished out and quickly answer when he saw Ritsu's Caller ID, "Ritsu, I was just about to call you. Listen, I haven't been very fair to you, and I really want to make it up to you...Okay, what kind of favor?" he listened to Ritsu on the other end of the call, his expression went from confusion to panic in an instant, "What?! Where?!" he exclaimed, making Yokozawa flinch and drop his cigarette in surprise before Masamune dashed off as though the devil was chasing him.

Masamune didn't stop running until he got to the room where original old manuscripts were, "Ritsu!" he called, spotting the Tinkle slippers that wiggle when its owner heard his voice, "I'm right here." Ritsu returned, lying down in between big boxes with a stack of boxes leaning diagonally over her legs, making it impossible for her to get up.

Masamune went into full blown panic as he rushed to where her feet were located, "Ritsu, are you alright?" he exclaimed, peeking between the boxes.

"I'm fine, I'm just stuck." Ritsu said, trying to be the calm one in this embarrassing situation.

Masamune carefully pulled the stack of boxes away from the wall and set them upright and steadied them further from the prone Ritsu. "How did this happen?" Masamune asked once Ritsu was safe in her position before kneeling down to her.

Ritsu held onto Masamune as he helped her up, "I don't know, I just got so big. I overestimated my ability to stay upright in this stage of the pregnancy." she said as Masamune held her up, as though she would fall again if he let go.

"Why didn't you call someone outside the room, the door was still open." Masamune asked, checking her over to make sure she was 100% alright.

"I didn't think of that. I only thought of you." Ritsu answered, feeling extremely foolish in this situation.

Masamune was shocked by her answer, but didn't dwell on it as he brought Ritsu into his embrace, the fear still lingering, thinking the worse that would've happened at this moment. Ritsu returned his embrace, "I'm sorry." she said, feeling guilty for scaring him like this before fast approaching footsteps came to the door.

The couple turned their heads to see Isaka along with security guards panting at the doorway with the chairman standing in the middle and leaning on his knees, "You alright, Onodera-san?" Isaka asked, sweating from panic as he stared at the Ritsu who stared at him in surprise and confusion.

"I'm alright, what's going on with you?" Ritsu asked before Isaka pointed at the camera that hung from the top corner of the ceiling, "Security caught you falling between the boxes, so we came to rescue you. But fortunately, your knight here beat us to it." Isaka said, turning to Masamune with a relieved smile, grateful that one of their best employees didn't die on the job.

Ritsu looked down, "I'm sorry Isaka-san." she said as Masamune rubbed her arm to comfort her.

Isaka waved it off as he sent his building security away, "It's not your fault, I'm just glad that our little Onodera-hime didn't die on the job." Isaka said, smiling as Ritsu blushed at the nickname before the chairman got serious and turned to Masamune, "I believe it would do her good if you take her home, she's done for the day." he ordered, Masamune nodded while looked between them in surprise, "What, hang on, I'm alright, really I am." she protested, not ready to go home yet.

"Onodera-san, you just had an accident. Thankfully, you didn't suffer any damage. Just take two days off and take it easy." Isaka said before Ritsu started to protest again, "But I'm telling you I'm alright."

"And I'm ordering you not to push yourself, last thing this building needs is your water breaking in the middle of work." Isaka said, being dead serious and not wanting to deal with her arguments before turning back to Masamune who nodded in understanding before leading Ritsu out of the room.

Ritsu said nothing as Masamune held her close, ignoring the 'awwing' employees that saw them as they passed by. He didn't release her until they got to his car where Masamune phoned Hatori and told him what happened before starting the car. For the first few minutes, it was silent between them before Ritsu broke it, "I'm really sorry Masa-kun."

"Don't be, I'm just happy that you're alright. Also, don't worry about any kind of work, you heard the chairman, take two days off." Masamune said, reassuring her not to think too hard about this.

Ritsu nodded, though uncertain before she looked out the window and realized, "Um, Masa-kun, this isn't the way to our apartment." she said, turning to Masamune who kept his eyes on the road, "I know, there's something I wanna show you." he said, smiling faintly at the destination he had in mind.

Ten minutes later, the couple found themselves in a neighborhood that was a little outside the city. Ritsu looked out the window and took in the modest houses they passed by, wondering why Masamune brought them here.

Masamune pulled up in front of a driveway where a For Sale sign was nailed into the front lawn. When Ritsu saw the sign, she turned back to Masamune in question, "Masa-kun, why are we here?"

"To show you what we might possibly get." Masamune said before exiting the car to go to Ritsu's side and open her door before helping her out of said car.

Masamune held her by the hand as he fished out a key before unlocking the door. Ritsu walked in with Masamune close behind her and gasped at the kitchen that had a marble counter with hanging lights over the island. Her eyes wandered to the spacious living room where a sliding door that connected to the backyard.

Masamune smiled at her amazed expression, "There's more upstairs." he said as he directed Ritsu to the stairs where he helped her up, which she didn't mind until they reached the top. Masamune showed her the two separate bedrooms suited for children before showing her the office room then the master bedroom for last. Ritsu was in awe at the beautiful space in the master bedroom as she walked over to the window that had a good view of the backyard.

"Wait, there's more." Masamune said, standing in front of the bathroom door before opening it to reveal a jacuzzi tub, leaving Ritsu shocked at the sight of the circular tub that can fit two people at the same time, "Oh my freaking god. This place has a jacuzzi?" she said, walking into the bathroom to get a better look at the tub.

Masamune leaned against the doorframe as he watched Ritsu inspect the jacuzzi, "This feature is what got me hooked into seeing this house." he said, making Ritsu turn to him as she sat on the edge of the tub.

"This is the house you want us to move into...because of the jacuzzi?" Ritsu asked, finding it hard to believe that he would want a house because of this enticing feature.

Masamune smiled, "Well that, but it was mainly the space this house provides." he said as he pushed himself away from the doorframe to sit beside Ritsu, "The reason why I chose this house was because I thought it would make you happy and give our child a happy home to grow up in. I know I didn't ask for your input, and for that, I'm sorry. I'll understand if you don't want to live in this house, from now on, we'll discuss where we want to live together until we come to a final decision." he said, leaving Ritsu flustered, watching as his face show sincerity and understanding.

Ritsu hummed as she mentally went through the house's interior, so far, she liked how spacious the house is and imagined how each room would look if they do get this house. With a sigh, she smiled, "You chose this house thinking about what's best for us. So far, I like it, we _should_ move here." she said, watching as Masamune's face brightened up, "You mean it?"

Ritsu placed a hand on her swollen belly, "Yeah, let's face it, we're on a deadline here, and we started too late." she said, stroking her tummy, "I want this house to have some good memories and give our child a good life, and maybe give him/her a younger sibling so that they don't grow up lonely the way we did. Plus, the backyard will be their domain." Ritsu said, laughing lightly as Masamune smiled before kissing her on the forehead.

Pulling away, he rested his forehead on hers, "I promise, we're gonna give our child the happy life they deserve." he said, making Ritsu blush before she started with a gasp, scaring Masamune, "What's wrong?" he asked in concern, which quickly disappeared when she started laughing as happy tears came to her eyes, "The baby kicked me." she said, making Masamune smile before placing his hand on her bump, feeling it nudge against his palm, his smile widening, "Our baby is happy with this house as well." he said, laughing with Ritsu as Masamune held her close.

"This is gonna work, once our lease is up, we can move everything here." Masamune said, finding it unbelievable that they have progressed this far into their relationship.

"There's one more thing we need to take care of though." Ritsu said, pulling away from Masamune to look him in the eye, "We need to get a new bed and fast. The fatter I get, the less space we have to sleep." she firmly said, making Masamune chuckle, "Whatever you say." he said, knowing she deserved that much, but he doesn't complain much since it gave him the opportunity to be closer to her in sleep.

That night when they got home, after agreeing that the beds in their apartments will be given to their children when they grow out of their cribs, the two of them searched online for the perfect bed for them to sleep in at their new house.

* * *

 _ **I could not stop writing. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint you, because I like it.**_

 _ **It occurred to me that Ritsu still hasn't admitted her feelings yet. But don't worry, it'll come in future chapters where Haitani will try to steal her from Masamune.**_

 _ **Until then, thanks for reading, good luck going back to school.**_


	23. Chapter 23

Hatori set down the last box in the kitchen area with a huff, "The last box, son of a bitch." Hatori said, straightening himself as Yukina walked passed him carrying cans of paint up to the baby's room to start his mini project.

"I really am sorry to trouble all of you with this. Masa-kun and I should've done this months ago." Ritsu apologized from her spot at the kitchen island where she, Chiaki and Kisa unpacked the plates, bowls and other kitchen utensils.

Chiaki waved off her apology, "Nonsense, you need all the help you can get. Kusama would've come, but he and Kamijou-san are wrapped up with their newborn." she said, adding a small plate to the stack on the counter.

"Oh yeah, Kurosaki mentioned that he would be taking paternity leave for a couple weeks to spend time at home. She said that she's never seen a man happier to ever become a Father." Kisa recalled, having visited the hospital with Yukina for their ultrasound which Ichiru so happily performed.

"Yeah, he truly has a firm grasp on handling a children considering his profession." Hatori added as he cut open a box before Yukina rushed downstairs with excitement shining on his face, "You weren't kidding when you said you had a jacuzzi tub!" he exclaimed, making everyone look at him funny before the girls started laughing.

Hatori fought the smile off his face, "That better not be the reason why you're helping us out." he said, having been told by Masamune himself who practically bragged about the house he and Ritsu are currently moving into.

Yukina scratched the back of his head, "Well, er, yeah, guilty as charged." he laughed sheepishly, not looking guilty at all.

Ritsu turned to the oldest woman in the room, "Tell me you two won't be sneaking in whenever Masa-kun and I go out of town?" she asked, predicting how the Erotica couple might use the jacuzzi for their intimate while she and Masamune are somewhere else.

Kisa shrugged, "Maybe." Chiaki raised an eyebrow at the woman who held her hands up, "Hey, when you hit your 30s, you need to do creative things in creative places. I'm savoring what's left of my youth before I start having grey hair."

"Oh c'mon, you still have two good decades left. I highly doubt you could become slow at this point." Chiaki said, finding it hard to believe that this baby faced woman could ever age faster than what her physical evidence suggests.

Kisa smiled, "Thank you." she said before turning to Chiaki, "What about you, will you be using the jacuzzi behind their backs?"

Chiaki smiled, "I already have mine at my penthouse." she said, laughing at Kisa's dumbfounded expression that showed how she clearly forgot how successful the mangaka is.

Ritsu felt at ease with her friends, already the three of them are approaching their due date, so each of them needs the emotional support from each other in times like this.

"When's Takano-san supposed to get here?" Yukina asked as he took a stack of plates and put them in the cupboards.

"Sometime before eight tonight, he really wants us to try out the hot tub." Ritsu answered, remembering the look on Masamune's face when he told her how they will celebrate their first night in their new house. It has been roughly three weeks since the two of them started packing everything up and selling some furniture to make room for the new home, and during that time, they have not had sex.

"Has it really been that long since the two of you had sex?" Yukina asked, earning an elbow to the ribs by Kisa, "What, I'm just saying, this night should be special for them. New house, newborn, new life. It's bad luck not to make love in the new house on the first night." he said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ritsu blushed deeply while Kisa narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend, "You just made that up, didn't you dear?" she said as Chiaki laughed at the two before Yukina replied, "It was how my parents celebrated moving in together. Nine months later, big brother popped out." he smiled when he got Kisa laughing until her sides hurt.

Hatori came to sit in the stool at the island, "It's strange how you two aren't married at this point. You're practically her husband with the way you cook." he said, remembering how the art student brought a wonderful meal when the couple ate at his and Chiaki's place.

"You should talk, you've been Chiaki's husband since you were five." Yukina said, looking directly at Hatori who blushed slightly, starting to regret telling him that he and Chiaki are childhood friends.

Chiaki blushed as well, this subject brought up many times whenever she and Hatori are alone. She very much wants the two of them to get married, but she doesn't want to be fat in her wedding dress.

"We're...getting there." Hatori said, his eyes moving to Chiaki who blushed even more under his gaze.

"What about Ritsu, she and Takano are practically in sinque with each other, and they already fight like an old married couple." Chiaki said, diverting everyone's attention away from her to the woman mentioned.

Ritsu went red at the implication before turning her gaze to the side, "I deny all accusations." she said, though it was already too late to deny the fact that they're together all the time at this point, both in and outside of work. The concept of marriage never once crossed her mind since being with Masamune. The worst example of marriage growing up had been her Father's union to her horrible Mother. That in turn, leaves her feeling insecure because her situation is the same as her Father's, staying together because they had a child together.

"Ritsu?" She was pulled from her thoughts to look up at the concerned faces of her friend who went silent and lost.

"Uh, I'm fine. It's just, that conversation hasn't really sprung up yet." Ritsu said, straining a smile that didn't convince them in the least.

"Well, it's pretty obvious that he wants to marry you. Hell, even a blind man can see that he loves you to the moon and back." Yukina said, voicing everyone's thoughts as Ritsu blushed, knowing that everyone can see it just as clearly as her.

"It's not like I don't want to get married, I just never gave it much thought seeing how I grew up with a negative view towards my parents' marriage." Ritsu sadly said, having witnessed a horrible example of marriage that ended in a traumatizing childhood.

Chiaki placed a hand on Ritsu's shoulder in a comforting manner, "Ri-chan, you and Takano are nothing like your parents, you're ten time better than your Mom who obviously doesn't have a maternal bone in her body." Chiaki said, all of them were told of how Ritsu's Mother married into the Onodera family and ruined Ritsu's childhood.

Ritsu placed her hand over Chiaki and smiled at her, "Thank you Chi-chan." she said before they hugged each other, to which Ritsu quickly pulled away with a pained expression, "Haaa, my tits! I thought it was over!" she hissed in agony as she massaged her breasts, ignoring the suppressed laughter from around her.

"You know, why don't you take the rest of the day off. It's a very good weather today, and there's not a lot of traffic." Kisa suggested, drawing Ritsu's attention to her, "You should go out and enjoy some personal time. We'll hold the fort until you get back." Kisa added, urging her to relax for the rest of the day.

Ritsu looked to each of her colleagues and friends to see them nodding in encouragement before she sighed, "You sure you can handle this place while I'm out?"

Kisa waved off her worries, "Don't worry, this place is in good hands. Just have fun today."

Ritsu smiled before nodding, "Alright, if you insist." she said, although a little uncertain before she moved away from the counter to get her purse and coat. Once everything was secure on her person she turned to her friends one last time, "See you guys in a few hours." she said before she walked out the door.

Once they were sure she was gone, Yukina held up a box of chocolate covered strawberries, "Shall I fill up the tub?" he asked Kisa who giggled in excitement before the two of them scurried up the stairs to have their fun.

Chiaki and Hatori shook their heads at them before the latter led the former to the couch in the living room to watch some t.v.

Ritsu parked her car, a baby shower gift from her Father, before entering her favorite restaurant to satisfy her cravings. After getting her usual, she sat down at her designated spot at the window where she can glance out of the restaurant as she eats. Occasionally, she'll spot a couple laughing together as they walked passed the restaurant, as though they were still in their honeymoon phase. But one in particular caught her attention, an elderly couple who despite their age, held youthful love in their eyes.

Ritsu tore her eyes away from the couple, a sudden feeling of loneliness and fear filling her, uncertain of her future. Her earlier conversation with her friends regarding marriage was still fresh in her mind, it's true that she and Masamune never talked about marriage themselves, all they've been able to think about was their baby, their jobs and moving. Yet so far, despite being together for the longest period of time, Ritsu still has not admitted her feelings.

Ritsu sighed and quietly said to herself, "Such a coward."

"Onodera?"

Ritsu turned to where the voice came from, and her eyes widened upon recognition, "Haitani-san."

The ash blonde editor-in-chief of Shuudansha's Weekly Earth manga magazine smiled brightly down at her before he noticed her swollen belly, "Been that long huh?"

Ritsu blushed, still self-conscious about her appearance, "Yeah, 8 months to be exact." she hesitantly said, Masamune warned her on multiple occasions never to come near Haitani because of the bad blood between them...and she has the misfortune of being caught in the middle.

"Is it alright if I sit?" Haitani asked, making Ritsu uncomfortable, she didn't want to seem rude by telling him no, so out of common courtesy, she nodded, granting her permission.

"So how have you been?" Haitani started up a conversation, still eyeing Ritsu's baby bump.

Ritsu decided to humor him, "I've been doing well, me and the baby. We've just moved all our stuff into our new house today, so I'm happy."

Haitani rested his chin on his palm, "So that means you and Takano-san are doing well as well." he stated with a smile that looked fake.

Ritsu's heart lurched at how he said his name, an underlying tone of deep dislike made her feel apprehensive of this man, "I didn't say it was Masa-kun."

"You didn't have to, he obviously staked his claim on you multiple times, especially when I'm around. He's afraid I'm gonna steal you away after all." Haitani said in a joking manner, but Ritsu sensed a hint of jealousy coming from him.

Ritsu laughed nervously, "You were only joking, no one is stealing me away. 'Staking his claim', I'm not some kind of object you know." she scoffed, never liking the idea of becoming someone's property.

"Well Takano-san has threatened me to stay away from you many times, _but_ I can't help myself, you're just so cute." He said, making Ritsu pout at being called cute.

"Oh shut up, I'm not cute, especially with this getting in the way." Ritsu gestured to her belly, making Haitani chuckle.

"I'm sorry, just can't help myself. Alright, I won't call you cute anymore, how about beautiful?" he asked, causing Ritsu to feel uncomfortable, since Masamune and her friends have been the one to call her that since she got pregnant.

"Um, that's fine, I guess." Ritsu said, laying a hand on her belly, feeling her baby starting to kick quite frantically, as though it sensed Haitani.

"You okay?" Haitani asked, noticing how she twitched slightly.

Ritsu smiled sheepishly, "I'm alright, it's just, the baby misses it's Daddy. Masa-kun has always been around that it can sense when he's not close by." she said, only telling half the truth.

Haitani smiled, "That's understandable seeing how you are the Mother of his child that he will feel compelled to stay close to you." his words made Ritsu freeze up for a second, reevaluating his words as her mind flashed to the last few months since her pregnancy. It was no secret that their baby is the reason why they were even together in the first place, but what if Masamune was with her _only_ for the baby and not her. That thought formed a lump in her throat, what if the moment she gives birth, all the fire that built between them will disappear, and all that will be left of it is their child alone. The thought of Masamune not wanting her afterwards scares her, but she will not hate him, or their child.

"Onodera?" Haitani's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, making her shake her head to clear those awful thoughts. "I'm fine." she said with a fake smile that didn't convince Haitani in the slightest.

Haitani narrowed his eyes, "Onodera, tell me, who is he to you?"

Ritsu fiddled with her hands underneath the table, "He's the Father of my child and we're living together." she said nervously, not really sure how or what that has to do with anything.

"No. _Who is he to you?_ " Haitani emphasized, wanting to know what her answer is.

Ritsu fidgeted, unsure if it's the question that scares her, or the man who asked it, "I'm...not exactly sure." a smirk appeared on Haitani's face for a second before he quickly removed it, "He and I...we never really establish a relationship aside from being expecting parents." she continued, feeling extremely doubtful about her relationship with Masamune that has not moved forward because of her.

"Does he want one?" Haitani asked, watching the emotions play on her face like an open book.

"I don't know...he always wanted me, he has said that many times long before I got pregnant." she said, remembering those intense moments where he would always declare his love for her whenever they were in the bedroom.

"Has he hurt you?" Ritsu's eyes turned to glare at him, feeling angry at him for asking such a question, "He has never laid a hand on me, and in all honesty, I don't think it is any of your concern."

Haitani held his hands up in defence, "I'm only asking because I'm worried about you, guys like Takano are unpredictable."

"You mean like you?" Ritsu said, watching his eyes widen at her statement before she scoffed, "I'm done here, I'm going home." she said as she got up, unable to finish the rest of her food as she left the restaurant and made her way to the parking lot.

Ritsu sensed him following her, making her turn to glare at him, "I do not want you following me."

Haitani took a step forward, but maintained a distance, "Just here me out, please?" Ritsu's silence answered his question.

"Aren't you afraid that he's gonna hurt you like he did years ago? I know it was all a misunderstanding, but do you really think that a failed relationship from a decade ago will work out, even with a kid?" Haitani asked, watching Ritsu's defensive stance shift a little, "He may be the Father of your child, but that doesn't mean you're his lover truly. I know that he will stay for the baby's sake because of his issues of not knowing his real Father, but are you really going to wait it out until he hurts you again? This might hurt the kid even more if that time comes." he said, making Ritsu look down in uncertainty, of course he'll stay for the baby, because he didn't want them growing up not knowing who their Father was like he did.

"Why does it matter to you?" Ritsu said, sensing him come closer until he was at arm's' length from her.

"It matters to me because I love you." Haitani replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ritsu lifted her head up to Haitani, noting that he was around the same height as Masamune. "I really do love you Onodera, just give me a chance. You and Takano can still be the child's parents, I'll even be the kid's Father figure if you'd let me." Haitani took another step closer until she could feel his body heat radiating off of him as he placed a hand on her cheek and started caressing it before grasping her chin, "I won't hurt you, not the way he has done to you so many times." he whispered, lowering his face closer to hers, intending to kiss her.

The world moved in slow motion around her, all she could hear was her heartbeat thundering in her chest. This position and his mannerisms were somewhat like Masamune's, but they were _not_ Masamune's. That thought scared her more than anything because it was always him who kissed her, who held her, who stayed with her and slept beside her each night. She didn't want this man's kisses, she wanted Masamune's...only Masamune's.

Ritsu's hand covered Haitani lips, halting his progress before she stepped back, dislodging his hand from her chin, "I can't." was all she said as she looked Haitani straight in the eye with an even expression.

"Why's that?" Haitani asked, his expression changing to sour for being rejected.

Ritsu clenched her fists, "I just can't, okay. I can't kiss anyone who isn't Masa-kun." she said, refusing to let another man touch her lips the way Masamune always done.

"You can't because you only ever been with one man. This is the same one that hurt you, I'm trying to save you." Haitani said, trying to sway her away from Masamune.

"No Haitani, you're just trying to get back at him over something that happened a long time ago." Ritsu said, narrowing her eyes at him, "Let it go Haitani, you can't change the past. Whatever happened between you two, just get over it and stop trying to drag me into this. No one's gonna be happy because you can't let go of a single grudge. It's over, deal with it." she finished, already getting sick of this game of vengeance.

Haitani narrowed his eyes at her, "So you're really choosing him, just gonna wait it out. A relationship with him is just a ticking time bomb ready to blow up. Are you really going to stay with someone who will destroy you."

Ritsu stayed quiet for a moment before a smile came to her lips, "Call me crazy, but I am...I'm staying with Masa-kun. You say he'll hurt me again, well let him. He broke my heart once, and that made me the woman I am today. If he breaks it again, I won't let it tear me down like before and run away like a wounded animal. If he's staying for only the baby's sake, then so be it. As long as I have some role to play in his life, I'm happy." Ritsu smiled in resignation, "I don't know how long it will last, I'll remember every moment I share with him, the good and the bad. Even when it's over, he'll always have a place in my heart, something you can't fill."

Haitani saw the emotions that play on her face as she talked about Masamune, it clearly shows what her feelings are towards the man in question. "Do you love him that much?" he asked, glancing over her shoulders.

Ritsu smiled sadly, that question has been asked many times, has prodded her constantly since she reunited with Masamune. She's tired of that question, tired of the uncertainty, the insecurity, the fear of heartache and loss those three delicate words will bring the moment she said it. She doesn't want to be asked that question when it was obvious to the world that she already chose who she wants to be with.

"Yes...of course I love him...from the moment our hands touched that day...I wanted to be his...just as I wanted him to be mine." she paused, smiling at the memory, "Even after that day when things fell apart, I still love him...ten years is quite along time trying to get over your first love. As fate would have it, we're cursed to be together." she laughed lightly, "I don't care what you or anyone else says or thinks, I chose him because I love him, and I'll continue to love him even if he pushes me away." she finished, feeling like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders when she said that word. More times than she has ever done in a long time.

Haitani stayed silent as he glanced over her shoulders again, making her confused before she turned around to see what Haitani was looking at. Ritsu felt her whole body heat up when she saw that it was Masamune who stared at her with wide eyes and mouth parted. From his expression, she knew that he heard everything, and this in turn, made her blush for being caught confessing.

Turning back to Haitani, she demanded, "How long was he standing there?"

Haitani shrugged, "Ask him. I'm going home." he said, turning his back to her, mad that his plan didn't work out at all, but decided that he was tired, "I do not like getting rejected. Goodnight everyone." with that, he was out of sight.

This left Masamune and Ritsu alone in the silent parking lot. Ritsu turned to face the former, still blushing from her confession as she looked down, unable to meet his eyes, "How much of that did you hear?" she asked, though it was obvious that he heard just about everything.

Masamune moved closer to Ritsu until he directly in front of her, "I heard enough." he said, in his deep voice that made it hard for Ritsu to decipher what he was feeling, "When I saw him about to kiss you, I was gonna knock him out and take you back home." he began, still angry at that man for touching his woman, "But you stopped him, you rejected him, and you...confessed." he quietly said, as though that word would break everything around them.

If it was possible, Ritsu got redder, confirming that he really did hear _everything_. Still refusing to meet his eyes after everything that's happened, she lashed out, "Look, if you're gonna make fun of me, then you might as well say it because-" she couldn't finish as Masamune kissed her, stopping her from saying anymore, just happy that she finally said the words he wanted to hear for so long.

Masamune pulled away, leaving a stunned Ritsu blushing as he kept his arms around his woman, "I love you." he said, wanting Ritsu to return those words to him, when she didn't, he asked, "Why did you decide to answer his question on whether you love me and not tell me yourself?"

Ritsu glared in annoyance, seriously hating that question, "Because I was tired of being asked that question. I hate that question because I don't like using words to tell someone how I truly feel." she answered, catching Masamune smiling before he asked, "Then what do you feel, if you don't like using words, what will you use?"

Ritsu, still blushing, refused to answer that, instead, she took his face in her hands and pulled him down for a deep kiss to convey her love and frustration that has built up in years. Masamune was surprised by her assertiveness, but didn't complain as he kissed her back, his happiness never wavering even as they pulled away.

"There, does that satisfy you, you idiot." Ritsu said, feeling happy despite the embarrassing public display she did, thankfully no one was around to see that.

Masamune chuckled as he kissed her on the forehead, "I'll be satisfied when we get home...to our jacuzzi." This made Ritsu laugh as Masamune led her to her car where they both piled in with Masamune behind the wheel.

"By the way, Yukina and Kisa already used the tub." Masamune felt the need to inform her as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Ritsu laughed, "Not surprised. But it's our turn next." she said, sensing Masamune heat up from those words and decided to add, "It's bad luck not to make love in a new house on the first night."

"You just made that up, didn't you dear?" Masamune said, but couldn't help smiling as Ritsu laughed before leaning against him, he responded immediately by wrapping his arm around her. She snuggled up to him, not caring what anyone saw if they should look inside the car, "I love you." she said, no longer feeling scared of those words.

Masamune smiled lovingly at his beloved, "I love you too." he said, happier than ever with the woman he loved beside him. Guess all that waiting was worth it after all.

' _Just one more thing to do.'_ Masamune thought to himself when he felt that weight in his pocket. The object that will tell the world that she was his and he was hers.

* * *

 ** _Who's happy, raise your hand! This one took me three hours, and I am happy with how this chapter turned out. We are fast approaching the end of this story, as sad as that is. But, I promise, the next chapter will REALLY make you pies yourself laughing and crying... mostly laughing._**

 ** _Guess what's in his pocket._ _;)_**


	24. Chapter 24

Two weeks have passed since that night, Ritsu and Masamune were happier than ever. Hell, Masamune practically skips into his department like a shojo character. Which somehow helps with the job, but sometimes scares other people on that floor because they are used to him being moody and scary. With each day that passed, Ritsu got closer to her due date, which made the couple both scared and excited. Soon enough, Ritsu will be taking her maternity leave.

"Are you sure you should go into work today, you're about ready to burst." Masamune asked as he lifted Ritsu out of the car with a groan, feeling the weight already.

Ritsu held onto Masamune as they walked into the building, "I'll be fine, this meeting is very important and I can't flake out like last time just because I lacked sleep." she said, passing by some workers who awed at how close they are to each other.

"As important as this meeting is, I still don't like the idea of you stressing yourself over it, especially with your due date drawing near. Kurosaki did say that due dates can change frequently, you'll either be late or early. I don't know which is scarier." Masamune said, having taken Ichiru's advice to heart since this is something new to the both of them.

"Sounds like our jobs." Ritsu joked, comparing their writer's deadline to her pregnancy before she assured him, "I'll be fine, I promise, after today, I'll take my maternity leave. If anything happens, you'll be the first I'll call." she said, as the elevator opened before they stepped inside, pressing their floor buttons.

Masamune used the elevator's temporary privacy to bring Ritsu into a kiss, which she welcomed as she returned it, no longer feeling ashamed to do this at work. The made out for a good ten seconds before the elevator arrived on Masamune's floor, a few coworkers blushed, glancing at the couple's make out session before Masamune pulled away to start work at his department, glaring at anyone who dared judge him and Ritsu.

The couple went about their jobs at their separate department until Ritsu had to go to her meeting to discuss the sales of her author's books where she is currently arguing with the sales department.

"We should print at least 200,000 for this book's first print." Ritsu repeated, feeling the book can sell out in a month with how popular the author is.

"Not possible, number's to high, 150,000 should be the right amount." Yokozawa countered, being in his business mode, but refused to be harsh around an extremely pregnant woman. He has some standards.

"And if they sell out with customers wanting more, don't you think we should-ohhhhhhh!" Ritsu groaned when she felt a sudden sharp pain, making her clutch her belly as people around the room started to stand up in alarm.

"Onodera, are you alright?" Yokozawa asked, not expecting this kind of reaction from a coworker.

Ritsu let out a breath once the pain passed, "I'm fine, I-" she cut herself off when the sound of trickling filled the conference room, accompanied a drenched seat she was currently sitting in.

"...I think my water just broke."

Masamune was typing away at his computer when the company's phone rang, which he immediately answered, "This is the Emerald, Takano speaking." the person on the other line was Yokozawa who sounded panicked and made it hard for him to understand, "Wait, hold on, slow down, what exactly is going on?" after five seconds, Masamune shot to his feet in panic, "RIGHT NOW?!" he shouted, scaring everyone on the floor as he slammed the phone down and grabbing his stuff before making a mad dash out of the department.

"It's okay Ritsu, Masamune's on his way." Yokozawa said as he and Kirishima walked beside her around the room because the latter said it helped with the contractions. As soon as her water broke, the meeting came to an immediate halt where Isaka ordered everyone out of the room and for the janitor to take the ruined chair away from the company. The ones who remained were Yokozawa, Kirishima, Isaka and Asahina.

"Is he bringing the car?" Ritsu breathed slowly, trying to handle her contractions.

"I don't think a ride to the hospital is possible." Asahina informed everyone after she looked at the traffic on her phone. Everyone looked at her in confusion before she explained, "Apparently the road collapsed so there's traffic everywhere." everyone's eyes widened, "WHAT?!"

Ritsu gripped Yokozawa's hand tighter as another contraction hit her, "Are you kidding me?!" she exclaimed in disbelief and pain before Masamune burst into the room, "Ritsu, are you alright?" he said, immediately spotting Ritsu.

"No, I'm not alright, someone decided their deadline is today, and traffic is shit everywhere, so we can't even go to the fucking hospital!" Ritsu shouted, not at all happy with her current situation and was on the verge of breaking Yokozawa's hand.

"Right, dumb question." Masamune said, feeling foolish and clueless in this situation, "I do not know what to do." he said, trying not to panic.

Ritsu breathed out slowly, "Isn't today Ichiru's day off?"

It only took a nanosecond for Masamune to fish out his phone and the number. It rang a couple times before the person on the other line picked up, "Hello, Kurosaki speaking."

"Kurosaki, it's me, Takano, I need your help, Ritsu's water broke and we have no way of getting to the hospital in time." Masamune quickly explained, needing that woman's help more than ever.

"What? Tell me this wasn't during work." Ichiru said on the other line, the rustling of clothes and moving around in the background caught Masamune's ear.

"How'd you know? Nevermind, how fast can you get to Marakawa?" Masamune asked, hoping she can get here fast...immediately.

"Traffic isn't bad from my house to Marakawa, I'll be there in ten minutes at most, I'm leaving the apartment right now. Haru-san, how fast is your car?" Ichiru said to the other person with her before she hung up.

Masamune shut his phone, "Ichiru will be here in ten minutes." he told Ritsu who continued to walk with Yokozawa and Kirishima.

"Ten minutes? Are you sure she can't get here soo-oh shit!" Ritsu's contractions got closer as Yokozawa winced from the painful grip. Turning to Masamune with gritted teeth, "Masamune, this is your girlfriend, so it should be your hand she's breaking."

Masamune quickly switched places with Yokozawa who was clenching and unclenching his hand in order to get some feeling back into his appendage.

"I'm gonna give your Father a call." Isaka announced before leaving the room to make said call with his secretary following behind him.

"Crap, I need to tell the printers that we'll be behind...again. But with good reason this time." Yokozawa added, referring to Ritsu who walked around the room with Masamune and Kirishima before running out of the room.

"Kirishima-san, I know he's your boyfriend, but why did that feel like he ran away out of fear?" Ritsu asked the woman beside her as she was helped along.

Kirishima shrugged, "Eh, he comes off as Mister Macho Man, but he doesn't know how to handle the women's problems without freaking out. But, you gotta love him." Kirishima smiled, making Ritsu laugh a little, which helped with the pain before she was escorted to a chair, which happens to be the Isaka's because it was the most comfortable.

"Okay, just stay right there and breathe, I'm gonna go get some water. Be right back." Kirishima instructed before she darted out of the room, leaving Ritsu and Masamune alone as the latter rubbed her back to soothe her pain.

"You'll be okay Ritsu, Ichiru will get here very soon." Masamune assured her as she went through her breathing exercises.

"There's no way I'm ready for this." Ritsu panted, sweat building on her brow as she squeezed his hand.

"It's okay Ritsu, you can do this, the pain is only temporary." Masamune assured her, trying to alleviate her pain.

"No...No, I'm not ready to be a Mother. Babies make Mothers crazy, I'm gonna go crazy, I'll keep making mistakes, I'll start blaming you, please don't leave me." Ritsu started to cry, afraid of what's to come the moment the baby is born.

Masamune continued to rub her back, "You're just feeling emotional right now, we can do this together, I promise." he said, just as afraid as she is, but ready to take on this task of parenthood.

Ritsu breathed, "Are we even going to be good parents? Our childhoods were shit, how are we gonna make a good example for the baby?" she exclaimed, her eyes locked on Masamune's as tears started to build.

"Just because my parents and your Mom were terrible parents, doesn't mean we will be. This baby is going to have a happy and wonderful life." Masamune said, refusing to repeat his parents' mistakes.

"Do you truly believe that?" Ritsu asked, still taking her deep breaths as Masamune squeezed her hand in support.

"I know it." Masamune smiled before adding, "Look at the last 9 months, I can't remember having that much fun with you. We had our bad moments, but we made something good out of it. That's what you and I do best, we find the best out of the worst situations, and this baby will be happy to have you as it's Mother. This is our new chapter that we'll be writing together, it's going to be an adventure, and I'll be with you every step of the way." Masamune finished, watching as happy and painful tears streamed down her face as she leaned into him, "I'm so happy." she sobbed as Masamune hugged gently and securely.

"Now get out." Ritsu unexpectedly said, making Masamune pull away in confusion, "But I thought you wanted-"

"No, not you." Ritsu said before yelling at her bump, "GET OOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTTTTTT!"

Isaka came into the room with a relieved smile as he waved his phone in the air with Asahina behind him with blankets for Onodera, "Okay, your Dad is on his way, he just cancelled his meeting-is that my chair?" he cut himself off when he realized that his precious chair is being used by a pregnant woman.

"GET OUT!" Ritsu shouted at Isaka, not in the mood to deal with the chairman and his complaints over his second favorite chair.

Isaka flinched, quickly backing away to leave that chair to it's doom until he was outside of the room.

"Isaka-san, is Onodera-san in there?" Isaka turned to his right to see Ichiru approach with a determined face and a medical bag in her hand with a man following behind her.

Isaka pointed in the room, directing Ichiru who dashed passed him to get to her patient. Isaka turned to the second visitor and realized who it was, "Haruhiko, what are you doing here?" he asked in surprise, catching the disheveled hair and tilted glasses on the ever stoic businessman.

Haruhiko adjusted his glasses, "I gave her a ride. We were having lunch." he lied, knowing what his childhood friend will say if he knew the truth.

Isaka smiled in a sly manner, "Really, then why is your fly open?" Haruhiko glanced down briefly and quickly zipped it up, his face flushed as Isaka continued to grin, "How'd you meet her?" Haruhiko responded by walking away, "Oh c'mon, I need to know, tell me." Isaka gave chase, wanting to know the details.

"Okay, people, time for the same song and dance; how close are the contractions?" Ichiru asked as she settled her medical bag right next to her and opened it to bring out the supplies she needed for this kind of birth.

"Oh...they're pretty...constant." Masamune winced when he felt the bones in his hand start to crack.

"Good, means you're ready." Ichiru said as she took the blankets from Asahina and laid one over her legs for privacy and another to the side for the baby. Kirishima came in with a basin of warm water, "I got warm water." she said as she set it on the conference table beside Ichiru.

Ichiru nodded at the two women, "Thank you very much, I'll take it from here. Could you close the door on your way out please?" she requested, laying out her medical tools and putting on her gloves.

Kirishima and Asahina nodded before leaving the room to see some people gathering before closing the door to give the three people some privacy.

"Okay, Ritsu, lean back, carefully." Ichiru instructed, Masamune helped Ritsu lean back slowly, her knees parted and legs covered by the blanket. "You've done this kind of birth before, right?" Masamune felt the need to ask.

"Standard protocol, one pushes the other catches. Sounds like a trust exercise." Ichiru answered, making Ritsu laugh despite the pain.

"Good, now, take a deep breath, and when I say push, you push." Ichiru instructed, having received training for this birth.

Ritsu nodded, still gripping Masamune's hand before taking a deep breath, waiting for the signal, "Push!" upon that word, she summoned her strength and pushed with all her might, grunting with the effort.

"Alright, you're doing good, this is moving along faster than anticipated." Ichiru said, feeling for the baby that was on it's way. "Get ready, and...push!" Ritsu pushed again, just wanting this to be over.

"Okay, better, the baby's coming. Now, just one more, give it everything you got. Ready...push!" Ichiru gently took hold of the baby's head, and gently pulled as Ritsu pushed, finally birthed a baby.

Ritsu fell back, relief filling her as the sound of a baby crying filled her ears, happy tears streaming down her face as Ichiru cut the umbilical cord and brought the baby to the warm water to clean her before wrapping it in a blanket, "Congratulations, you have a daughter." Ichiru announced, presenting the newborn to the couple.

The moment Ichiru placed the baby in Ritsu's arms, she and Masamune immediately fell in love with their daughter, "Masa-kun, we have a daughter." she laughed as tear streamed down her face as Masamune hugged her and the baby, his eyes filling with tears as he looked at the most fragile creature in Ritsu's arms. He only imagined this moment with Ritsu many times, but this, what he feels, it puts every imagination to shame as the baby nestled in her Mother's arms.

The couple barely heard the knock as Ichiru wiped her hands on a towel, "It's safe to come in now." she said, granting permission for them to enter.

The door opened, revealing Isaka who peaked in warily before opening it fully, "The ambulance has just arrived." he said, taking in the scene of Masamune and Ritsu practically enamored with their precious bundle. Isaka felt tears coming to his eyes, "I'm...gonna go over there." his voice cracked as he slowly left the room, not wanting his tears to show.

It was all a blur for everyone when the paramedics arrived and rolled Ritsu out of the building and drove her to the hospital to make sure her and the baby were healthy. Masamune never once left her side for the duration of the ride, and when Ritsu was brought in for check up and taken to the recovery room. Once Ritsu and their daughter was confirmed to be healthy, all three of them laid in the recovery bed as Masamune wrote down the paperwork for their baby's birth certificate.

"How about Rika, it's a strong and beautiful name." Masamune suggested, sitting beside Ritsu who sat upright, cuddling their daughter.

Ritsu smiled, "It's perfect for her." she said, feeling overwhelmed with happiness as she held their little Rika.

Masamune chuckled, "Rika Onodera-Takano." he tested out the name, loving the way it rolled off his tongue.

Ritsu shook her head, "MmMm, Takano-Onodera." she switched the hyphenated names, liking that arrangement better.

"I hate hyphens. How are we going to agree on her last name?" Masamune asked gently, already having a solution.

"I don't know." Ritsu answered, not taking her eyes off of Rika fora second.

"Marry me?" Masamune whispered, watching as Ritsu froze for a second before turning her head to Masamune who held a velvet box in his hand. Her breath caught in her throat, surprise clear across her face, "How long have you been holding that?" she asked, tearing her eyes away from the box to meet Masamune's eyes that were full of love.

"Two weeks. I was waiting for the right moment. I know this is not a romantic setting, but I believe now is a perfect moment for us. I want to be your husband, if you'll have me." Masamune said, his eyes telling her what he wants, what he has always wanted since getting together with her.

Ritsu felt her heart pound in happiness, this was something she didn't expect, yet anticipated for a long time. She accepted her feeling for him a long time ago, no longer denying what he means to her. Over the past nine months, they were practically husband and wife in everything but name, time to make it official.

"Yes." Ritsu nodded, tears leaving her eyes again as she smiled in overwhelming happiness. Masamune smiled as well before taking the ring out of the box and slipping it onto her ring finger. Once it was securely on her finger, he kissed it before kissing her on the lips, showing her how relieved and happy he felt to finally have her.

The sound of Rika cooing brought their attention back to her, "Hey, baby girl, your Mommy and I are getting married, we're gonna be a family." Masamune said to little Rika, letting her wrap her tiny fingers around his index finger, giving him a gummy smile that caused them to laugh and smile at their little girl.

This is what they've been waiting for, their daughter and their love. Nothing could get any better than this.

* * *

 _ **Well everyone, that concludes the story. I know some of you want me to continue, but I don't want to go into detail since you all know that they live happily ever after. None of you were expecting Haruhiko, were you? I like to say that I am proud of this chapter. Also, the longest story I have ever written.**_

 _ **For my final request for this story, tell me what's your favorite chapter, what you consider the most heart breaking moment and what you found the funniest.**_

 _ **One more thing, thank you to all of my reviewers and followers, I'm happy to have written for each and everyone of you. Thank you.**_


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